Different Path
by knaka148
Summary: Not all stories have a single path. We have seen the story of Nazarick in the New World, now see how the story would unfold if a different group arrived instead.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N**

 **Hey, I've been reading fics on this site for some time now but I didn't create an account until recently. I've had the idea for this story bouncing around in my head, and after a lot of procrastination, finally decided to try write it. Don't ask me why I chose this series to start off with, it just happened. Please keep in mind this is my first fanfic.**

 **I don't own anything related to Overlord. This is purely for my own amusement. I am sharing this so others may be amused as well.**

XXX

It was the end of an era.

After over a decade of popularity, YGGDRASIL's servers were shutting down.

On the last day of service, many players entered the game to experience it one last time.

In another timeline, a certain undead overlord player had a seemingly impossible experience.

This is not that story.

XXX

20:30

'Haaaaaaa' the player sounded, even though he couldn't actually exhale here.

'Kenichi' was a level 100 human player who had just returned to his guild base.

"Even though it was only a level 75 dungeon, why did I just have to do it today?"

Kenichi had just returned from a dungeon in the world of Jotunheim that he had raided for treasure. Of course, with this being the last day of YGGDRASIL, there was really nothing to be gained from doing so. The only reason Kenichi had gone was to experience it for one last time.

As he stepped into the area administered by his guild building, he dismissed the two NPC mercenaries that were following him.

"Such a shame no one could come though".

Even though he missed his friends, Kenichi knew they would not come today.

'Royal Order' was a somewhat well-known and well-connected guild, at least among beginners. That being said, it was not very powerful. Currently, it was ranked 282 out of just under 800 guilds in YDDGRASIL, putting them slightly above the average, but in the heyday of the game, they were consistently in the bottom fourth of all guilds.

The reason why they were currently ranked so high now wasn't because they had gotten stronger, but because stronger guilds had disbanded.

'Royal Order' was a guild that generally gathered new players and taught them some basics of the game. While they welcomed all players regardless of race or class, most were human players. Their founding members were causal players who simply wanted to explore the game world. As the new players got stronger in game, many would decide to leave 'Royal Order' to join other guilds. This was accepted throughout the guild and no one complained about it. After all, they were playing just to have fun. As a result, 'Royal Order' had no guild secrets, powerful items, or powerful players. They did however, have many connections with other guilds through former members, and those guilds would help out whenever they could and within reason.

Most high-level players would leave the guild, but a few would decide to stay. Kenichi was one of those few, and about two years ago was given the position of guild master. However, by that time, YDDGRASIL was already in decline and the guild membership numbers steadily fell. Eventually, he became the last member of 'Royal Order'.

Kenichi walked past the stone golems and lifeless constructs working the fields around him and headed for the main guildhall. 'Royal Order' had conquered this base, located in Midgard, a little over four years ago and it had been their headquarters ever since. The guild base 'Silver Castle'. As its name implied, it was a castle. Normal castle-grade guild bases had 700 levels of NPCs to work with, but 'Silver Castle' had 1200 levels. This was the result of a base level total of 900, which was already high for a castle, and a bonus of 300 levels. No one in 'Royal Order' knew why they were given this bonus, but they didn't complain.

'Silver Castle' was actually an unusual guild base in several ways. The actual castle itself was somewhat smaller than usual with two stories and a basement, but the guild base included a large area surrounding the castle. This area was designed as fields where crops grew in the mild climate of Midgard. The POP monsters automatically spawned by the base would work in these fields instead of attacking intruders, generating low quality consumable items that could be sold to NPC merchants. As a result, 'Silver Castle' was a base with poor defenses, but steady income generation. Most powerful guilds highly valued defense in their guild halls and therefore did not consider 'Silver Castle' as a desirable base, so there were few attacks after 'Silver Castle' had been conquered.

As a low-ranked guild, "Royal Order' did not have players with high-tier items. During the peak of YDDGRASIL's popularity, no one in the guild had a divine-class item and only a few had legendary-class items. Most players in 'Royal Order' used top-class or high-class items for their normal gear. The NPCs in 'Silver Castle' were originally also equipped with items of that tier, but over the past few months, Kenichi had replaced them with relic-class items that he obtained.

As he neared the main entrance to the guildhall, 5 NPCs walked pass Kenichi. After hesitating for a moment, he called out to them.

"Stop"

Obeying the command, the NPCs stopped their patrol and stood motionless.

Kenichi walked up to the NPCs and silently observed them.

Standing in front were three male NPCS. The one on the left wore full plate armor bearing an intricate design and was armed with a sword and buckler. The one in the center also had plate armor on, this time with a large green gem in the center, and carried a spear, with a short sword at his waist. The one on the right wore durable leather armor and carried a bow and quiver on his back and wielded two blades by his waist.

Kenichi had walked past this group of five NPCs that patrolled this area countless times. He also gathered the many magical items they were equipped with. He knew that they were all level 100 NPCs set to patrol the grounds and repel intruders, but he had never really paid that much attention to them. One thing he occasionally wondered was why they looked the way they did. Most NPCs in YDDGRASIL were pleasing to look at, but these three looked somewhat silly. He had no idea who made these NPCS and their background information and never felt the need to know.

However, since today was the last day they would exist and therefore the last chance he would get, Kenichi decided to try to find out the reason. Kenichi opened the game console and navigated to the data of the NPCs before him. As he read the names of the three NPCs, he fought the urge to face fault.

"Curly, Larry, and Moe, who the hell creates NPCs based off the three stooges?"

Even in the year 2138, people still knew about the classics, or perhaps they knew them because they were classics. While their backstory was consistent with the setting, the appearance and names of the NPCs were drawn from obvious sources.

Turning his attention to the other two NPCS behind the three stooges, Kenichi focused on the middle-aged man and young woman.

The man wore baggy grey robes, had a turban on his head over his jet-black hair, and carried a staff. He was obviously an arcane magic caster. Pulling up the information screen for this NPC, Kenichi let out another sigh.

"… Merlin. Our guild's naming sense never ceases to amaze me. Should I even bother with the last one? She should be named Nightingale or something."

Kenichi focused on the last member of the five. She had short blonde hair, wore a white skirt and top, and held a mace and shield, obviously being some sort of healer. Pulling up her information, Kenichi was once again surprised.

"… Sachiko, well, that's a surprisingly mundane name."

Losing interest, Kenichi sent the five NPCs on with a 'continue patrol' command and entered Silver Castle.

After passing the entrance hall with the NPC maids, Kenichi headed directly to the treasury room in the basement. After descending the stairs, he stood in front of the vault door and accessed his console. Selecting the option to deposit all of his loose items, he turned around to head back up.

Or at least that's what was supposed to happen.

"Huh?"

A large red X appeared on Kenichi's console.

"… Impossible, how can the treasury be full?"

The treasury for 'Silver Castle' was smaller than the large guild bases, but it still had a large capacity. It could easily hold over 5 million separate items with room to spare. Kenichi brought up the console and inspected the treasury contents.

"… What the, 562,814 potions, 818,213 wands, 16,411 artifacts, 1,125,121 scrolls, 808,002 crystals, where did all of this crap come from?"

The treasury was filled with a huge amount of low class items.

Kenichi would normally stock these useless items in the treasury and occasionally sell them to NPC merchants for quick gold. They weren't worth much, but he had a habit of not throwing anything away. That being said, not everything in the treasury was trash-tier. It actually held enough rare data crystals to create several dozen divine-tier items, courtesy of members who quit the game, Kenichi's latest dungeon conquests, or gifts from friendly guilds that disbanded. However, Kenichi couldn't bring himself to use them as he was a bit of a hoarder. He always saved the rarer items and after several years even managed to completely equip himself with legendary-class items, but the vast majority of these items in the treasury were low quality.

Kenichi realized that he couldn't remember the last time he had cleared the treasury of these trash items. He briefly considered doing a shop run, but decided against it. It was the last day after all, there was nothing to gain and he would lose time. Besides, there was already over 10 billion gold in the treasury, a small amount for a large guild, but much more than a single player would need.

Keeping the items in his inventory, Kenichi walked up the stairs to the main floor of Silver Castle. He was headed for the central room, the throne room. As he passed the main staircase to the upper level, he idly realized that he couldn't remember the last time he went upstairs as well.

"Should I look around up there? Eh, other than the library, there's only guest rooms there, not missing anything."

Kenichi continued deeper into the castle, passing the kitchen, armory, and several other rooms before entering the throne room. The room was empty other than the three NPCs meant to be the last line of defense, all lined up before the throne. Unlike the NPCs patrolling outside, Kenichi was more familiar with these three.

The one that caught Kenichi's eye first was naturally the one closest to him. A large monk-class fighter with short hair, loose fitting clothing, a dignified air about him, and no weapon to be seen. This was Black Belt, an NPC guard with exceptional resistance to elemental attacks. Incidentally, 'Black Belt' was the third name choice for this NPC. Originally, the guild member who created him wanted to create an NPC called 'Sebas Tian', but the system bounced that name back because it was already being used. The same thing happened when they tried 'Fist of Fury'. Behind him was a woman with long red hair, wearing a black skirt and white top. She held in her hand a small book with strange characters written on it. Her name was Miranda, she was a priest class NPC capable of a wide variety of healing and support spells. At the rear, nearest to the throne, was a woman with medium length black hair tied into a ponytail. She was wearing light armor that almost seemed to be more for appearance than function and was not equipped with a weapon. Despite this appearance, this was arguably the most powerful NPC created by 'Royal Order'. Her name was Serenity and she was capable of summoning a large variety of creatures, from angels to beasts, and had multiple command classes and skills that boosted the strength of both her allies and summoned creatures.

These three NPCS were all level 100. Along with the five patrolling outside, they were the only level 100 NPCS in 'Royal Order' as well as the only ones designed for combat, the other custom NPCs being lower level NPCs usually specialized for production like cooking and crafting.

Behind them was the throne for Silver Castle. Set flat against the wall, it looked quite impressive at first glance, but it had no special properties and just looked good. More important was the item that was the weapon displayed above the throne.

The guild weapon, 'Royal Hammer'.

Most guilds liked to create exceptionally powerful guild weapons, with their guild weapon surpassing the power of even divine-class weapons. They usually had amazing power, but were never used for fear of losing it and having the guild be disbanded.

'Royal Order' did not think this way.

'Royal Hammer' was a weapon built to last. It had poor offensive power and few special abilities, but was exceptionally durable. It was created with many data crystals that boosted weapon resistance and damage reduction. It would take a long time for a top-level player to destroy it, even if they were armed with divine-class equipment or used super-tier spells. It would be much easier to steal it than destroy it, even considering the many layers of defenses against theft that surrounded it. Kenichi even thought that it would be able to survive a hit from a world-class item.

"Of course, it would certainly be destroyed with the second hit, but it should be able to survive one, right?"

As he sat on the throne, Kenichi idly thought of the world-class items in YDDGRASIL. He recalled the greatest moment of victory that 'Royal Order' ever experienced. Once, they managed to get their hands on a world-class item. It was called 'Picture of Nature and Nation'. It was an unexpected prize from an attack on a PK guild called 'Grinning Hyena'. Many in the guild then never thought they would even see a world-class item, let alone own one.

"Ah, good times"

Of course, it couldn't be expected to last. Just six days after they had acquired 'Picture of Nature and Nation', it was stolen from them by a guild called 'Burning Embers". The members were furious and wanted to launch an attack to reclaim it, but just three days later, before they had even started planning, they learned that it had been stolen by yet another guild. This continued for a while, with 'Picture of Nature and Nation' going through several guilds, until finally a large guild called 'Shadow Star Society' took it. 'Shadow Star Society' was one of the strongest guilds in YDDGRASIL then and no one was foolish enough to attack them recklessly. As far as Kenichi knew, no one was able to steal 'Picture of Nature and Nation' from them, up until the day the guild disbanded several years ago.

"Hmm, I wonder where it is now. Ah, no point in worrying about it now. Speaking of world, I never did find out where or how I got this class."

The class Kenichi was referring to was the 'World Guardian' class, one that he discovered over four years ago. It gave him a huge boost to HP and greatly enhanced the defensive effects of his equipment, as well as rendering him immune to the special effects of world-class items. It also had an ability that let him designate up to 8 other targets to give a boost to defense and magic defense and immunity to the special effects of world-class items. This effect stayed until revoked, even when he was in a different area or even logged off. The only downside to this class was the fact that it cut all damage done by him in half. It didn't affect his taunts, but it did cut his combat ability. That was why he needed to hire mercenary NPCS to help him clear dungeons; it would take too long by himself.

"Ah, no point in worrying about it now."

Kenichi sat in silence, reminiscing about the experiences he had in game. Slowly, his fatigue built and he felt increasingly tired. After a while, he glanced at the time display.

21:58

Kenichi had originally planned to stay until the server shut down, but he knew he couldn't make it. With regret in his heart, he decided to leave the game early. Standing up from the throne, he moved his hand to the logout symbol, but stopped halfway.

"Eh, no good lord abandons their vassals without appointing a successor."

Accessing the master console, Kenichi used his authority as guild master to alter the settings of Serenity. He added one line at the end of her description.

'Has been designated leader of Royal Order when all guild members are absent'

As an afterthought, Kenichi accessed his 'World Guardian' skill. Currently, he had designated the two mercenary NPCs from earlier and six of his absent guild mates to receive his protection. Revoking that protection, he then designated the eight level 100 NPCs in 'Royal Order' as the targets for his skill.

"Well my lady, I leave everything to you. Take care of them."

Kenichi addressed Serenity respectfully before logging out.

XXX

In southern Tokyo, in a large apartment complex, Ichiro Yamanaka returned to reality. Slightly depressed that he couldn't see the end of one of his favorite games, he lay in bed and let sleep overtake him. Ichiro was 30 years old with a well-paying job, but still lived with his parents. Although he had more than enough money to get his own place, he was a miser who hated spending money. He even refused to use the cash shop in YDDGRASIL, unlike some of his guild mates. He lived with his parents because it saved him money, and he didn't know how to cook very well. Ichiro silently fell asleep in his soft bed. Tomorrow, he would wake up, go to work, and continue his life as normal. The world will keep spinning. Ichiro would live on completely unaware of the effects his actions that night would have.

XXX

In another world, three people silently stared at an empty throne. After what seemed like an eternity, the one with black hair tied in a ponytail broke the silence.

"My lord, I understand and shall carry out your will."

XXX

 **I plan to upload two chapters to start off. I don't plan to edit this first chapter, but I may change my mind later.**

 **Also, don't argue with me on the proper names of stuff. Since the original story was written in Japanese, there may be several ways to translate it.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N**

 **Yeah, I got nothing. On with the story**

XXX

The three of them looked at the empty throne. After what seemed like an eternity, the one with black hair tied in a ponytail broke the silence.

"My lord, I understand and shall carry out your will."

Serenity turned to the other two people in the room and addressed them.

"High lord Kenichi has left us."

Black Belt stared at the empty throne for a moment longer before addressing Serenity.

"He's really gone, huh. I guess it was inevitable. Very well, what are your orders my lady?"

Before Serenity could answer, a Message popped into her head.

"My lady, I must speak with you immediately"

"Is this Merlin?"

"Yes, an urgent matter has come up"

"I am aware, high lord Kenichi has left us"

"Yes, that too, but something else has occurred"

"What is it"

"It seems Silver Castle has been transported to a new area"

"What! How did this happen"

"I don't know, but it seems to be true"

"Very well, bring Curly, Larry, Moe, and Sachiko with you and come to the throne room"

"As you command"

"My lady, is something wrong?"

Serenity realized that she had ignored her two companions for some time.

"It's nothing, Miranda. I was talking with Merlin via message. He is coming here now."

"I see."

Several minutes later, Merlin and the four others arrived in the room.

"Merlin, what is the situation outside?"

"Yes, I realized it right before I messaged you. It seems that we have been transported to a different area by some unknown means. At first glance, everything seemed fine, but I noticed a large mountain range and forest in the distance. Also, the surrounding plains seem to be slightly different from the fields of Midgard."

In YDDGRASIL, Silver Castle was located on a large plain, so large that there were no mountains or forests within sight range, at least to humans without the aid of magic. As all of the NPC servants of Royal Order were human, they shouldn't have seen any mountains or forests nearby.

"I see, do you know what caused this?"

"I apologize, but that is beyond my knowledge. Did high lord Kenichi leave any instructions?"

"He told me to take care of all of you. As such, I will put the survival of Silver Castle and Royal Order as my top priority. Hopefully, one day our masters will return. In that case, I intend to welcome them back."

After discussing several other issues, Serenity ordered Curly, Larry, Moe, Merlin, and Sachiko to continue patrolling the grounds and capture any intruder they encountered. Before they left, Serenity gave all of them except Merlin a message ring from the Treasury. After some thought, she also took one herself and gave one to Black Belt and Miranda. She also got rings of sustenance for all of them. Message rings were low-tier items that just allowed unlimited use of the message spell at no cost. Since most players could use message and it was a cheap spell, these rings were considered useless in YDDGRASIL and often sold to NPC merchants. However, few NPCS could use message and amongst those in Royal Order, only Merlin was among them.

Once the five left on their patrol, Serenity gave orders to the other two. Black Belt was to inspect the grounds surrounding Silver Castle and see if there were any changes to the POP constructs that worked the grounds and how the crops were doing. As she was unsure if any merchants would be able to come to Silver Castle anymore, Serenity also needed to find a way to generate income. Although the treasury had a large amount of gold in it, she didn't know how long that would last. At the very least, she wouldn't have to worry about food. There were plenty of rings of sustenance in the treasury and even if that were not the case, they could eat the food grown in the gardens. Nevertheless, Serenity wanted to have a stock of food to sell to any travelling merchants that came by.

Miranda was ordered to inspect the interior of Silver Castle and see if anything had changed. Although they weren't focused on production, there was a head chef, sous chef, alchemist, and blacksmith living in the castle, along with the maids. They would produce items and do other work at the request for their lord, but had very little combat ability. Miranda was to give each of them a message ring and ring of sustenance and ask what they needed.

While her subordinates were doing their jobs, Serenity sat at a table in the main hall and used a Mirror or Remote Viewing to scan the area surrounding the castle. After some time figuring out how to operate it, she was able to proficiently operate the mirror and started looking for signs of other life. Ignoring the forest nearby, she scanned the plains for any intelligent beings, using Silver Castle as a starting point and going out in a circular fashion. About an hour into her search, she found what appeared to be cultivated fields. From there, it was a simple matter to find a nearby village. Unfortunately, the village she found was completely destroyed. It had clearly been burnt to the ground within the past few days and she couldn't find a single survivor. After scanning the area for any signs of life and not finding any, she continued her search. A short while later, she found another village, this time with signs of life. As the zoomed in on her view, she realized this village was under attack. Armored knights were chasing down and slaughtering the helpless villagers. The knights were too organized to be mere bandits. Considering her situation, Serenity hesitated. On one hand, she wanted to help the defenseless villagers, but on the other hand, she didn't want to get involved in a conflict. After a few moments, she made a decision. Activating her message ring, she contacted Merlin.

"Merlin, I've discovered a settlement not too far from here that is currently under attack by an organized force. I want you to teleport there with your group and save the civilians there. If possible, negotiate with the attackers to find a peaceful solution, but if necessary you may use lethal force. However, if you are outmatched, retreat immediately. I leave field command to you."

"As you wish, my lady."

"Now, the village I mentioned is located…"

XXX

Enri Emmot was currently having the worst day of her life.

It started out normal, rising before the sun and getting ready for the day. Life in a village was hard, but mundane. This morning, she set out to the edge of the Great Forest of Tob to gather herbs that grew in the area. She never ventured far into the forest where the more valuable herbs grew for fear of provoking the guardian of the village. The first sign the day would go bad was when one of her packs broke on the trip back and the wind scattered the herbs she had worked so hard to gather. Sighing at her misfortune, Enri continued on with the other two packs she had. At that time, she thought that was the worst thing that would happen that day.

Oh, how wrong she was.

Enri was brought out of her daydream by the sound of screams from her village. Terror flooded her as she realized that someone had set fire to her village. Even though she knew the dangers, she ran toward her house, ignoring the cries of her neighbors as they were slaughtered. Enri dropped her bags as she rushed to her house and threw open the door. She saw her family huddled in their house waiting for her. Without a word the four of them fled, heading to the forest. Unfortunately, they were attacked by the knights and both her father and mother sacrificed themselves to give Enri and her sister Nemu time to escape. However, even this wasn't enough as the knights continued to pursue them. Currently, there were two knights chasing Enri and Nemu as they headed to the forest. The knights were much stronger physically than the girls, so even in their armor they could catch up to them. Eventually, they did so and Enri was cut down by a powerful slash to her back. She desperately wanted to save her sister, but she knew she was powerless in this situation. Lying on the ground, she idly wondered why she was still alive. Suddenly, she heard an unfamiliar voice.

"That's enough"

XXX

Curly stood tall before the knight that had just struck down the village girl with blonde hair. Holding his sword and bucker in a defensive positon, he addressed the knight.

"That's enough"

"Who the hell are you?"

Curly took a glance back toward the girl as he saw his companions surround her. The five of them had arrived a short distance away and rushed over after they saw the knight strike the girl down. After seeing Sachiko cast a healing spell on the girl, Curly turned back to the knight.

"What's going on here? Why are you attacking these defenseless villagers?"

"Fools, you dare defy the mighty Sl… uh Baharuth Empire!"

"Answer my question, why are you attacking them?"

The knight responded by swinging his sword at Curly. Curly easily deflected the sword and knocked the knight unconscious with a shield bash.

Seeing his comrade felled so easily, the second knight decided not to push his luck and ran toward the forest.

Letting the knight flee, Curly turned to the two village girls and addressed them.

"Are you two OK?"

"Uh, yes, thank you sir"

"Your welcome. Now then, what is your name?"

"Uh, I am Enri Emmott and this is my sister Nemu"

"Very well, Enri, I am Curly, and these are my companions Larry, Moe, Merlin, and Sachiko of Royal Order."

Enri looked around at the people who surrounded her in awe.

"Now then, do you know why these people were attacking you?"

"Uh, no, we are but a simple farming village. The empire has always left us alone. Curly-sama, are you a member of the King's Royal Guard?"

"No, we just arrived here recently, we have no idea what's happening."

"I see"

"Well, then, we will do what we can to save your village."

"Thank you"

Before leaving Sachiko cast a spell to protect the two girls.

[Sanctuary]

An intricate magic circle appeared on the ground beneath the girls and a golden light surrounded them.

At the same time, Merlin pointed at the collapsed knight.

[Magic Chains]

Several magic chains appeared from his finger and wrapped themselves around the knight.

"You're magic casters"

Merlin turned to face Enri as Sachiko spoke.

"Yes we are. The spell I cast will protect you and the spell Merlin cast will restrain the knight. As long as you stay in that circle, you should be fine. It will last about half an hour, more than enough time for us to finish this."

"Thank you, please save our parents and our village"

"We will do what we can"

With that promise, the five of them headed towards Carne Village.

XXX

 **That's it for this chapter. Just so you know, I've planned out this story to a certain point. Once I reach that point, I have no idea where to go. Whether or not I continue after that depends if I get struck by inspiration or not. Community response may affect this decision slightly, but ultimately I will need an idea to continue.**

 **Edit: I noticed that some punctuation marks did not upload properly. I have added them into this version.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello everyone,**

 **I have decided to release this next chapter now. Just to let you know, my scheduled release date for chapters basically boils down to 'whenever I feel like it'.  
**

XXX

Londes Di Gelanpo was having a bad day.

It had started out like any other day in the beginning. Once again, his company was to attack a defenseless village and slaughter all but a few of the villagers. They had done this several times now and it was becoming routine. They quickly and efficiently herded the villagers into the center square. Four knights stood guard around the village to shoot down anyone who tried to escape. They acted like a well-oiled machine.

When five strange people suddenly appeared and demanded they stop attacking, they laughed. What could five people do against fifty? Their captain ordered that they be killed too. Even if they were adventurers, they wouldn't stand a chance. When the first ten men who approached them were defeated, Captain Belius cursed them for their incompetence and ordered Londes' squad to do the job properly.

He was now the last one of his squad still standing.

The three warriors he faced were powerful, much more powerful than he had anticipated. Even worse, the two standing behind them, who looked like magic casters, had done nothing during the entire battle. Normally in a situation like this, the presence of magic casters wouldn't be a big problem. Although powerful, they would usually require some time to cast their spells. If they were attacked during this time, their spells would be interrupted and rendered useless. This is why a magic caster usually has no chance against a warrior once they had closed the distance between them. In this situation, they would normally slip past the outnumbered defenders and engage the casters in melee.

However, the three in front were too powerful. They felled all attackers with a single blow and prevented anyone from passing them. If the magic casters entered the battle now, they would be the ones who were slaughtered today.

"What are you doing? There are only five of them! Kill them now!"

'Idiot, realize the situation we're in' Londes cursed in his heart. Of course he didn't dare say it out loud.

"I say again, stop your slaughter of these innocent people. Why do you kill them?"

Londes turned to face the man with hair so short it almost looked like he was bald.

"I am but a mere subject of the great emperor. I simply follow my orders and do not question them. We were ordered to attack this village, so we did so"

Londes prayed to the gods that the warrior before him would not hold him responsible for the events in the village.

"I see. Do you intend to continue fighting even now?"

A pained groan came from one of the knights lying on the ground.

"We must follow the orders of the emperor. However, he has also ordered us not to throw away our lives on a hopeless mission. If you permit, my men and I will withdraw from this village.

"Very well then, be gone. I shall spare your life this time. Do not cause trouble here again."

"Yes, sir"

Thanking the gods that he would not have to face this fearsome opponent, Londes dropped his sword and shield and quickly ran toward his horse before leaving Carne Village for good. The other knights quickly followed, ignoring Captain Belius's curses and shouts at them to form up again. In the end, Belius himself was forced to retreat as well once all of his men fled. Londes knew it would be a pain in the ass listening to Belius berate them and the report he would give his superiors would likely blame them, but at the moment he didn't care.

Once they were sure the attacking knights had left, the five strangers approached the villagers. Larry addressed them first.

"Is everyone OK here?"

"Thank you young knight, you have saved our village. But who are you?"

A man with tan skin and black hair showing traces of white responded.

'This must be the village chief' Larry mused.

"I am Larry of Royal Order. These are my comrades. We saw your village being attacked and came to assist you."

"Did the nobles pay you to come and save us?"

"No, we have not received payment for this."

The villagers looked at each other with worry. They could not afford to pay for these warriors, especially with the village in its current state.

Sensing their worry, Merlin stepped forward.

"Ah, do not worry, we will not require payment for this. However, I would like to speak with a representative regarding other matters."

The villagers calmed down a bit, but were still somewhat worried.

"Very well, I am the village leader. I will talk with you. Please follow me to my house."

With that, the three of them, Merlin, the chief, and his wife headed toward a small hut in the middle of the village while Larry went to retrieve the two girls that they had rescued earlier.

XXX

As Merlin looked around the house, he couldn't help but click his tongue. These villagers were obviously very poor. The furniture and tools were old, there were no magic items, and everything seemed handmade. The chief's wife made a cup of hot tea for Merlin, which he accepted out of courtesy, despite not needing to eat or drink thanks to his ring. The tea was bitter and unsweetened, far from the tea that was served at Silver Castle. Putting the tea down, he began the conversation with the village chief and his wife.

The two of them were surprised to learn that Merlin didn't want money, but rather information. They thought it was a joke when he didn't know the surrounding area, but they tried their best to give him what he asked for. Merlin quickly realized that they were no longer in Midgard or any of the other realms. Merlin tried to arrange a meeting with the ruler of this land, but learned to his dismay that Carne was a backwater village that had no contact with their rulers except when it came time to collect taxes. He did however learn about a nearby city called E-Rantel where he could get more information. As the conversation continued, there was a knock at the door.

"Chief, we're ready for the funeral."

"Very well, I'll be there soon."

The messenger turned away, leaving the three alone again.

"I'm sorry, Merlin-sama, but could we continue this conversation later? I must attend the village funeral."

"Eh, you're not going to have them revived?"

To Merlin, this is was a perfectly legitimate question. The villagers did not die of old age and should be able to be revived safely. However, this surprised the chief.

"Revived? What do you mean? I know of no magic that can raise the dead."

"I think Sachiko, our cleric, has a spell that can revive them. I'm not sure of the details, but would you like to try?"

The chief and his wife looked at each other.

"Well, we'd love to have our friends back, but we have nothing to offer you in return"

"That's not a problem. We would not ask for anything you cannot give. Either way, I myself am uncertain if Sachiko can really revive them, but we'd like to try."

The village chief felt guilty at taking advantage of these strangers, but agreed in the end. They brought the corpse of one of the villagers to the center of the village while Merlin explained the situation to Sachiko. He also learned that the knight they had restrained earlier had been freed with a warning to never return here. A small crowd gathered around them as she inspected the dead villager.

'Hmm, looks like his level is quite low. 5th tier magic clearly won't work. I doubt 7th tier would work either. Well, let's give this a shot.'

Sachiko raised her hand and cast a 9th tier resurrection spell on the corpse.

[Resurrection]

The man lying on the ground suddenly drew a sharp breath and started coughing. The villagers were amazed that he was brought back to life. They surrounded him and started bombarding him with questions.

"Hey, calm down everyone. Can't you see he's exhausted? Do you want to kill him again?"

Moe's voice caused the villagers to back up. He approached the newly revived villager and spoke to him.

"Hey, how do you feel?"

"Mmrpgh Mmrpgh"

The villager desperately gasped for breath and groaned in response to Moe's query. It seemed that he wasn't capable of speech yet. Merlin turned to the other corpses lined up and counted them. They numbered 28.

"Well Sachiko, can you do it?"

"It will take some time. I have enough mana to revive about 19 more now, but I will need to recover before doing any more"

"Very well, I guess we will be staying here longer than expected."

As Sachiko started reviving the other villagers, Merlin contacted Serenity via the message spell and updated her on the situation. It was nearly dusk by the time they had finished.

The villagers were all extremely grateful to them for reviving their neighbors, friends and family. Although they were all still unable to move, they considered it a miracle and wouldn't stop thanking their saviors.

It was actually starting to get a little awkward.

As the sun headed for the horizon, the five from Silver Castle gathered in the village square to bid farewell to the chief.

"Thank you so much for all you have done"

"Really, it wasn't that big of a deal"

"Really, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts"

"Yes, we appreciate your"

"How can we ever repay you?"

Sensing that this would continue for some time if nothing was done, Merlin decided to cut off the chief.

"I understand, but now we must take our leave. We have already spent far longer here than we anticipated."

The village chief looked at Merlin with wide eyes. Just as he was about to speak, a young man interrupted him.

"Chief, we have a problem! Several knights on horseback are headed here!"

The village chief was noticeably startled. Eyes filled with fear, he glanced at Merlin and his group.

"Well, I suppose since we're here, we can help again."

"Thank you, I cannot express my gratitude. If there is anything I can do"

"How about you stop thanking me every other second first; after that, have everyone gather in the village square."

Following the directions of the chief, the villagers gathered in the center square of the village. Some held shovels, sticks, or other improvised weapons even though they knew they would likely not be able to do much with them. Larry, Moe and Sachiko stood by the villagers, while the chief and Merlin stood ahead of them to greet these unknown knights, with Curly protecting them.

After a while, they saw about 20 mounted warriors approaching them from the road leading to the village. Their gear varied among each individual, be it helmets, armor or weapons. The one thing they had in common was the look on their faces and the aura surrounding them. These men seemed like hardened warriors. The man leading these warriors was easily the fiercest and most eye-catching of all of them. Stopping some distance away from them, he looked at the villagers in the square and the three people in front of him. After a few tense moments, he spoke in a deep voice.

"I am the Warrior-Captain of the Re-Estize Kingdom, Gazef Stronoff. By order of the King, I have been visiting each of the frontier villages to exterminate knights from enemy counties who have been making trouble here."

Naturally, Merlin didn't know who this was. He did however feel somewhat relieved that there was an organization protecting this village, one that he could likely negotiate with. However, he had to confirm this man's words. He turned to the village chief and asked him a simple question.

"Do you know this man?"

The village chief seemed shocked by Gazef's appearance but quickly recovered.

"I've never met him before, but according to the stories from the traders, he is a man who claimed the championship of the martial arts tournament held before the king and now leads the elite warriors loyal to the king."

"Quite impressive"

Gazef looked at the chief and said, "You must be the chief of this village. Can you tell me who these people beside you are?

Before the chief could answer, Merlin spoke.

"I shall introduce myself. I am Merlin, a magic caster. My group noticed this village being attacked by knights, so we intervened to chase them off and save the village."

Gazef dismounted from his warhorse and bowed deeply to Merlin.

"Thank you for saving this village. I have no words that can adequately express my gratitude."

"Yes, we've already been thanked several times by the villagers. I think we've had enough thanks for one day, so please raise your head."

Gazef raised his head and looked directly at Merlin.

"Would you happen to be adventurers?"

"I suppose you could call us that"

"I see, you must be extraordinary adventurers then. Although, forgive my ignorance, but I have not heard your mighty name before, Merlin-dono."

"We are not from this area and just arrived here before we saw this village being attacked"

"I see. Though I regret having to use your time, could you tell me about the ones who attacked this village?"

"I apologize, Warrior-Captian-dono, but I know nothing about the attackers. We simply chased them off. However, it seems that some of them dropped some equipment."

Merlin motioned towards the swords and shields the knights from before had dropped. One of the warriors behind Gazef dismounted and went to collect them.

"I see, while it is unfortunate we do not have more evidence, this will have to suffice. Merlin-dono, Chief-dono, may I request that we continue our conversation in a more comfortable setting? The sky is growing dark and we would like to rest in this village for the night."

"I understand. Please follow me to"

Cutting off the chief's reply, a horseman suddenly rode into the square. He was clearly exhausted, but he had an urgent report to deliver.

"Warrior-Captain! We've sighted people around the village! They've surrounded us and are closing in!"

XXX

"Everyone, take heed, the prey has entered the cage"

A blonde man with a scar on his face addressed his subordinates as they began the encirclement of the village.

XXX

 **I'm running out of things to put here. From now on, I'll only put something here if I feel like it. If you don't see anything at the beginning or end of my chapters, then I didn't have anything to say.**

 **Also, I have no idea how many people died during the attack on Carne Village, so I just winged it.**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N**

 **Well, this chapter was finished much earlier than expected. It's a bit shorter than I envisioned, but I think it came out OK.**

XXX

Nigun Grid Luin looked upon Carne Village from his vantage point on a nearby hill.

He had just finished a conversation with one of his personal guards regarding the unusual nature of this mission. While he was slightly frustrated on being given an assassination mission, he would follow the orders of the cardinals obediently. Even without his equipment, his target was a mighty foe, but Nigun had faith that he would succeed in this mission. Although they had missed several chances to kill his target, he knew the Sunlight Scripture would succeed this time. The target had finally been cornered, and he would fall before the messengers of the gods called forth by his subordinates. With great confidence, he gave the order.

"Begin the operation"

XXX

"I see, so there were people out there"

Gazef peeked through the window of the house he was hiding in. He could see three people in the distance, slowly advancing toward the village. From their looks, they were clearly magic casters. They wore light gear and walked forward with confidence. Beside each of them, a winged angel floated, confirming their identities.

"Well, what do we have here? Friends of yours?"

Merlin asked Gazef about these new people. They were currently alone in the house; everyone else was still at the main village square.

"No, they are certainly not my allies, I doubt that they are yours either. They probably intend to attack the village."

"Again? Is there something valuable about this village?"

"Merlin-dono, you do not know either? Well, then there is only one logical answer."

"I see"

"This is troubling. Judging by how there are so many people who can summon angels, they must be from the Slaine Theocracy, probably a special operations unit, the legendary Six Scriptures. It would seem we are completely outmatched. Heh, they've certainly gone to a lot of trouble, using the Noble faction to strip me of my gear. Still I didn't expect the Theocracy to go this far."

"Pardon me, but I was under the impression that you led an elite unit in this country. Can you not fight them?"

Merlin was honestly curious. Even if they were outnumbered, Gazef and his men were veteran warriors. They should have some chance of victory if they were indeed an elite unit.

Gazef sighed in response.

"I'm at an overwhelming disadvantage. My men and I are under equipped for this sort of combat. We lose in terms of equipment, numbers and skill. Additionally, since they chose to attack now, they must have planned for this battle and therefore hold the tactical advantage."

Merlin understood the situation Gazef was currently in.

Gazef considered his options. It was a thoroughly unfavorable situation. However, there might be one trump card he could use.

"Merlin-dono, would you be willing to let me to hire you?"

"Huh?"

"You may name your price and I will meet it."

"What do you mean?"

"I wish to hire your group to assist in battle against these enemies."

"I see. Unfortunately, I have no desire to engage another group in battle on my own volition."

Merlin knew too little about this new group and wanted to avoid a conflict. Even though the Archangel Flames he saw would be easily defeated, he did not know if they could summon stronger creatures.

Gazef raised his brows at Merlin's refusal.

"You know, even though they are after me, they are not people who will leave any witnesses."

"Even so, I wish to avoid conflict. Since you are outmatched, have you considered fleeing? I respect your desire to fight and deliver justice for these villagers, but would it not be wise to live to fight another day?"

Gazef slowly shook his head.

"If that were an option I would gladly take it. Unfortunately, it seems that the enemy has surrounded us. No matter which direction we flee in, we will be caught."

"Ah, but I notice that the enemy has not used any anti-teleportation countermeasures. Why don't we just teleport away?"

Gazef stared at Merlin. He had seen teleportation magic before, but he did not know how that was relevant to this situation. Teleportation was high-tier magic that few could cast, and even then, the distance one could teleport was limited.

"I know you are not magic casters, but do you not have any means to teleport? Perhaps an item or a way to contact a mage who can?"

Merlin felt this was an obvious question. Members of Royal Order usually had teleportation items that let them return to the guild base in an emergency. He assumed Gazef would have something similar.

Gazef, on the other hand, had no knowledge of items capable of teleportation and knew only a handful of mages who could cast teleportation magic. He stared at Merlin in disbelief.

"Is that really possible?"

"I see, you don't have anything like that. In that case, perhaps I can be of service after all. Would you like to hire me to get you to safety?"

"If at all possible, yes. I'd prefer if you could escort us to E-Rantel, but simply getting us away safely would be acceptable."

"Very well then. I have no idea where E-Rantel is located so I cannot teleport there directly, but I will try to escort you there. We can discuss the payment later. For now let us go to the town square."

Merlin and Gazef walked back to the town square. On the way, Merlin contacted Serenity via message and received her permission to bring everyone to Silver Castle. Once at the square, Merlin instructed everyone, including the riders and their horses, to gather around him before casting his spell.

[Widen Magic: Greater Teleportation]

The next instant, every human was gone from Carne Village.

XXX

Gazef looked up at the large castle before his eyes. It was slightly larger than Valencia Palace and Ro-Lente castle in Re-Estize. It was a single building with many defensive structures built into its walls. As he looked around, he saw fields of growing crops and an orchard in the distance, with no sign of Carne village. To his surprise, he noticed that the many creatures working the fields were not human, but appeared to be some type of golems. This surprised him as he had heard that even a single golem was extremely expensive. Suddenly, the main doors of the castle opened and several figures walked out.

Serenity, Miranda, and Black belt, accompanied by the nine maids of Silver castle approached the new arrivals. The maids were all level 5 custom NPCs, with the exception of the head maid who was level 10. Serenity addressed the gathered people.

"Welcome back, my comrades. Also, to everyone else, welcome to Silver Castle. While I would like to offer proper hospitality to you, I must discuss several issues with your representatives. Will the one called Gazef Stronoff and the chief of the village follow me? The maids will assist everyone else."

The villagers and the Kingdom's warrior band looked at each other. They had just entered a new world and were confused and uncertain.

"Very well, let us go, chief-dono"

Gazef walked towards Serenity, pondering on this unusual situation.

XXX

Meanwhile, back in Carne Village

Nigun was frustrated.

The Sunlight Scripture had spread throughout the village. They had burned down every house, cleared every field, and completely destroyed everything. They had thoroughly searched every inch of the village. Yet there was no sign of Gazef or anyone else there.

Nigun was certain that they had not slipped past their encirclement. He briefly considered the possibility of a magic caster using [Invisibility] on them, but realized that there was no known magic caster in the village. Even if there was one, they wouldn't be able to sneak so many people away.

He knew that there would not be another chance to corner Gazef. The Sunlight Scripture had revealed itself during the encirclement. The angels they summoned would make it obvious to anyone where they came from. Gazef was certain to withdraw and inform the King of this. In the worst-case scenario, this would become an international incident.

Nigun had no idea how they had escaped, but his mission was a failure.

With rage burning in his chest, Nigun screamed an ancient curse, one said to have been used by the Six Great Gods themselves.

"WHO STOLE MY KILLS!"

XXX

 **In case you haven't noticed, I don't like to copy directly from the original story. I think a few lines here and there are fine, but not entire walls of text. It feels like I'm just trying to fill space. Therefore, I decided to cut out the conversation between Nigun and his subordinate since it would've been exactly the same as the light novel version.**

 **I am keeping the Japanese honorifics. I have no idea why I decided to do so, I just did.**

 **Do characters need to actually speak when using message? I couldn't find an answer in the LN, so for the purposes of this fic, they do not.**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N**

 **Someone asked me if the Nazarick forces will make an appearance in this fic. The answer is no. I wrote this originally with my new characters taking the place of Nazarick and have already made several scenes that would have to be redone if they were here. It would be easier to just make a new fic than to go back and add them in at this point.** **However** **I do appreciate the suggestion.  
**

XXX

The meeting between Serenity, Gazef, and the village chief lasted long into the night. They discussed many things, but eventually, two of them grew tired and Serenity decided to postpone their negotiations to allow them to rest. It was decided that the Kingdom's warrior troop and the villagers would sleep outside the castle, in tents provided by Royal Order. Serenity did consider allowing them into the guest rooms on the second floor, but decided against it for the moment. They still had no official treaty and although she offered them aid, there was a limit to her generosity.

The refugees and warriors from the Kingdom were in high spirits as they went to sleep. Being saved from certain death was a major factor in this, but they also received generous assistance from their mysterious benefactors. Immediately after the chief and warrior-captain left to negotiate, the maids offered them clean water from a pitcher that never emptied. The water was poured into glasses that appeared to be very expensive, worth far more than any of them could hope to earn in their life. About an hour later, once the villagers who were revived could start moving comfortably, two people, a man and a woman, brought out food for their dinner. Once again, it was served on valuable dishes. They were served freshly baked bread and hot soup. Although the serving size was quite small, the people who ate it thought it was the best meal they had had in their lives. The villagers, who rarely ate any high quality food and the warriors who had survived the past few weeks on travel rations thoroughly enjoyed their meal. The warrior's horses were given some wheat and water from the infinite flask.

Gazef lay on his improvised bed in the tent loaned to him and reflected on the events of the day. It wasn't quite as comfortable as his bed in the Royal Capital, but it was much better than sleeping in the saddle. Normally, when camping in an unknown area the warrior troop would post sentries around the camp to guard against night ambushes. However, they were under the care of this 'Royal Order' and were told the five adventures he met would be patrolling the grounds. Gazef initially objected to this, offering to help with the patrol, as he believed the adventures would be tired as well, but he was informed that they had magic items that allowed them to go without food, water, and sleep. He had never heard of such an item, but then again, he was not an expert on magic.

Upon learning the events that transpired that day, Gazef was shocked to learn that the villagers had been resurrected. Resurrection was a rare and high-tier magic and he only knew of one person who could do it. However, according to the mistress of the castle, two of her subordinates were capable of casting resurrection magic. He could tell these people he met were powerful, but exactly how powerful they were, he did not know.

Equally surprising was the story of them somehow being transported to this area. Gazef had never heard about anyplace like the land they claimed to come from.

Shaking his head to clear his mind, Gazef turned his thoughts to the future. He and his men were safe for the moment, but they had much work ahead of them. Serenity had informed him that she was aware of Merlin's offer to escort him and the villagers to E-Rantel and consented to it. Therefore, he would have the assistance of the five adventurers for the time being. He needed to meet up with his vice-captain as well; hopefully he would return to E-Rantel once he couldn't find Gazef. Once that was completed, he needed to inform the king of the truth behind the village attacks. He knew the true identity of the culprits behind this travesty, but his testimony alone would be insufficient, and the equipment dropped by the knights all bore the crest of the Baharuth Empire. In addition, since the Noble faction was likely assisting them, they would do everything in their power to cover it up. He honestly hated politics. Finally, Serenity had informed him that she wished to meet with an official representative of the Kingdom to establish diplomatic ties. Gazef had no idea how that would go; it was well over his head.

Gazef knew he was in for many headaches in the days to come. Suddenly, his bed didn't feel quite so comfortable.

XXX

The next morning, Serenity, Gazef, and the village chief gathered to continue their discussion. By the time they had finished, the sun was high in the sky. After the meeting, Serenity ordered Merlin and the others to equip themselves with certain magic items from the treasury. She anticipated that they would need them for the upcoming journey.

The maids had served oatmeal and some strange fruit for breakfast, and meat and bread for lunch. Once again, the portions were small, but the food was delicious. Serenity had offered temporary financial assistance to the villagers, but the village chief refused, saying that they had already done more than they could ask for. The villagers and the warrior troop received some travel rations before setting out with the five adventurers toward E-Rantel.

The trip to E-Rantel was long and uneventful. Normally, it would only take a day or two of travel, but as they had a large group with many weakened villagers, it took three days. There were no attacks on the group and no monster encounters except for a small group of ogres and goblins. That encounter did not result in a battle as the demi humans withdrew upon seeing the strong warriors.

During the course of the journey, Gazef grew to appreciate how useful it was to have items that removed the need for food, water, and sleep. As his horse moved at a slow pace, he idly wondered what other magic items they were using.

The group arrived at E-Rantel just as the morning crowds were dying down. The guards were slightly shocked to see such a large group approach, but upon Gazef identifying himself, they were allowed in the city without any issue. Most of the group went to the residential district after entering the city, but Merlin, Gazef, and the village chief headed to the mayor's mansion. They had several issues to discuss with him.

XXX

After arriving that the mansion, the three of them were escorted to a waiting room. Normally, a meeting with the mayor would not be allowed if the guests were armed. However, Gazef was permitted to keep his sword on account of his position as Royal Warrior-Captain. Likewise, Merlin kept his staff as Gazef vouched for him, and everyone knew that a magic caster could usually use magic even without it.

After a few minutes, three people walked into the room. One was dressed like a noble with a fit body, one seemed to be entirely made up of fat, and the last one was a skinny man. The noble was the first to speak.

"Introducing the mayor of E-Rantel, Panasolei Guruze Dale Rettenmaier!"

The mayor looked at the noble with irritation and sighed.

"Eric, you don't need to say that every time I have a meeting. Don't you have some work to do? If you want to introduce yourself, do it now"

Eric slightly stiffened, then walked up to Gazef before addressing him.

"Hello Warrior-Capitan-sama, I am Eric Rale Ingus, a noble in service to the mayor. I wanted to meet the legendary warrior who serves directly under the king."

Slightly taken aback, Gazef stared at him for a moment. It was rare for any noble to admire him.

"Uh, yes, I see."

"Eric, I believe that's enough, you've met the Warrior-Captain, so get back to work now"

The mayor gave the impression that his nose was stuffed up with the way he talked.

"Yes, Mayor"

Eric suddenly stiffened up before leaving the room.

"I apologize for that, Warrior-Captain, he was quite excited to hear you were coming to visit and insisted on meeting you."

"It's no problem"

"Is that so, anyway, this is Theo Rakesheer, the leader of the E-Rantel Magician's Guild. I was having a meeting with him when we were notified of your arrival and thought it best that he joined us. Now then, I've heard the basic details, but what exactly happened, Warrior-Captain, and who are these two people with you?"

"This person is the chief of a village that was attacked by the bandits I was sent here to subdue. I brought him here to speak for his village. Although their lives were saved, they will need assistance for some time."

"Very well, we will see what we can do"

Although the mayor said that, he knew that as the Kingdom currently was, there was little they could do for the villagers.

"This person is an adventurer I encountered who saved the chief's village with his group. His name is Merlin and he has graciously agreed to assist me for now. "

Hearing this, Theo joined the conversation.

"An adventurer, huh, what rank are you? Also, where is your identification plate, I was under the impression that adventurers were required to wear them in public."

Merlin had heard about adventurers in this world from Gazef during his journey. Therefore, he was able to answer this question quickly.

"Ah, I am not that kind of adventurer. I am not registered with the guild. I am actually more of a guard and explorer from a faraway land. I am simply using adventurer for lack of a better term."

"I see"

Theo looked like he wanted to say something but held it back. After a moment of silence, Gazef addressed the Mayor.

"Now then, Mayor, I am sure that you wish to learn about this incident, but it is quite a long story, and my vice-captain is not here. I would like to wait until he returns."

"Very well, I presume there is no time-sensitive information that needs to be shared then?"

"As you say"

"In that case, we can wait a while. Your vice-captain left the city about four days ago after dropping off some villagers he was escorting. If things go as I anticipate, he should return within the next few days. Now then, about your lodgings, we should be able to house the members of the warrior-band, but we do not have enough room to shelter everyone. What will you do?"

The village chief looked up nervously, but it was Merlin who answered.

"Regarding that, my comrades and I do not have any local currency, but we do have some items we can sell. Would you assist us in finding us a merchant who is interested in purchasing them?"

"What kinds of items are you selling?"

"Magic items, mostly"

Theo, who had been steadily losing interest in the conversation, suddenly snapped back to attention.

"Magic items, you say? Well, I am the leader of magician's guild for E-Rantel. Would you let me see the items that you wish to sell?"

Merlin had already gotten a rough idea of how powerful the items in this world were. Just to be safe, he had brought with him items of various tiers in the magical backpack he was carrying, but he decided to start with one of the weakest items. He produced a relatively small club from beneath is robe and handed it to Theo.

Theo looked at the club with slight disappointment. He was expecting something more grand. Then again, there were powerful magic items that looked mundane. One could not judge the quality of an item on its looks alone. Suppressing his doubts, he cast his magic.

[Appraisal Magic Item], [Detect Enchant].

Eyes widening in surprise, he let out a single word.

"Amazing"

Although it looked like nothing more than a simple club, it held powerful magic that increased bludgeoning damage. From what he knew, it was clearly a first-class magic item. Granted, it would be among the weaker of the first class magic items, but it would still be considered first class.

"Do you think you can find a good buyer for this item?"

Theo looked at Merlin.

"Certainly, while it may take some time, I can definitely find a buyer for this item."

"How much do you think it will fetch?"

"I am not certain, but given its quality it should be worth several hundred gold coins."

The others eyes slightly widened at this. That was a small fortune.

"I see. If possible, I would like you to handle the arrangements. Also, I am in need of money immediately. If I leave this in your care, would it be possible to get a small advance?"

"That will not be a problem. Considering the items quality, I believe I can give an advance of five gold coins. I will give you the remaining balance once it is sold, minus the processing fees, of course. We can discuss further details at the magician's guild building."

"That will be acceptable. I also have four other items I wish to sell as well. I shall show them to you once we arrive there. Village chief-dono, it looks like I will be able to give you and your people a little assistance once more."

"Thank you once again."

The chief smiled bitterly, knowing he would have to rely on this kind stranger again.

The mayor took this opportunity to speak up.

"Well then, I believe that just about covers everything for now. Warrior captain-dono, we shall meet again once your subordinates return."

With that, the five ended their meeting and left the room.

XXX

 **Well, I spent quite some time searching for the names of the village chief and Gazef's vice-captain. Turns out that they aren't mentioned in the LN. I could've sworn I heard them from somewhere, but I guess I was wrong.**

 **Also, I have no idea if Gazef's men are call the warrior troop, warrior band or something else, so I will use those names interchangeably.**

 **Fun fact: I originally intended to have Curly, Larry and Moe be named Eins, Zwei, and Drei, but thought that it would be funnier this way. Yeah, I'm bad at making names.**

 **Made a minor correction**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N**

 **Made a few minor changes in earlier chapters**

XXX

Moe walked down the busy streets of E-Rantel.

It was their second day in the city. Merlin had secured some money for them to use the previous day. As they had nothing to do until Gazef's subordinates arrived, Merlin gave the rest of them permission to explore the city. Shortly after their arrival, they realized that they could not read the language being used here, so Merlin had to teleport back to Silver Castle to get magic items for each of them that would allow them to understand this new language. Also, for some reason, he insisted that they rent a cheap room even though they didn't need to sleep thanks to their rings. They were all given a small amount of money to use as they saw fit.

Eventually, he found himself in front of a five-story building in a large plaza. Noticing the many strange people entering and exiting the building, he took out his magic glasses and used them to read the sign above the door.

"Adventurer's guild, huh. So this is where it was."

Feeling curious, Moe entered the building through the front door.

Inside, there were many people. Warriors with full plate armor, hunters with bows on their backs, magic casters both arcane and divine, and many others. They all wore metal plates somewhere on their bodies. Most of them had silver or gold plates but Moe noticed a few with iron or platinum among them. The people here seemed to be swapping information about various subjects, looking at parchments on the nearby noticeboard, or gathered in groups on the tables. As Moe walked by them, he caught a few snippets of conversation.

...

"I'm telling you, the Ogre was twice as big as normal, I should be promoted for defeating it.

"Yeah, right. You keep saying that but no one believes you Gordon. Everyone can tell you're bluffing."

"I swear, it was…"

…

"A whole day of hunting and only three goblins, that's just sad."

"Cheer up Peter, tomorrow's another day"

"Even if you say that Ninya, what if this continues? What do we do if …"

…

"Hey, I heard the Magician Guild has some powerful new items for sale. Do you guys want to go and see them?"

"Do you really think we can afford them? We haven't been getting any big jobs lately."

"It can't hurt to look. Besides, if we combine our savings…"

…

As he approached the counter, the receptionist turned her attention to Moe.

"Hello sir, how can I assist you? Would you perhaps be applying to be an adventurer?"

"Thank you, but no. I have a few questions I would like to ask you regarding your organization."

Moe had already learned a little about adventurers from Merlin, but he still had many questions. After a short conversation, Moe learned the basics of the adventurer system including their ranks. Thanking the receptionist, he left the building, idly wondering what rank they would give someone like him.

XXX

"Are you feeling better now?"

"Yes, thank you very much."

"Be careful now, I may not be here the next time"

Sachiko looked at the elderly man as he walked away. After he had disappeared, Sachiko continued her exploration of the city. That was the seventh person she had healed on her brief walk. This city was filled with people in need of help. However, after healing the second person, she was approached by a man in a strange outfit who tried to reprimand her. Apparently the temples here charge for healing and look down on people who heal for free. After learning that she was just traveling in this city and not a member of any temple or an adventurer, the priest looked at her with anger showing in his face and mentioned that the temples needed money to survive before leaving.

Sachiko paid the priest no heed. She would help those in need because she wanted to. As she turned around a corner, she saw a woman leaning against a wall in pain. Sighing, she went to help her.

XXX

Curly entered the house with the small shop area in front. When he entered, the bell mounted on top of the door rang, signaling his entrance to the people inside. Curly looked around the guest lounge. He could see several bookshelves and plants around the room. It was quite nice compared to the other places in the city.

"Welcome"

A voice called out to him. It sounded like that of a young man.

A teenage boy with old work coveralls stained in plant juices approached him. Curly tried to look him in the eyes, but his blonde hair blocked them.

"May I ask what business you have here?"

Curly stared at the boy for a moment before asking him a question.

"Pardon me, but are you the owner of this shop?"

"Ah, no, that would be my grandmother, Lizzie. I do work here though, so I can help you."

"I see. Anyway, I was informed that this town was famous for its alchemists and the best herbalist in the region owned this shop. I was hoping that you or your grandmother would have some time available later. My team and I would be interested in talking to you. We would like to discuss several things and buy a few potions."

"Ah, I'm sorry. Normally I would be willing to discuss things with you, but an old friend of mine recently came to town. I need to go see her and help her family with things, so I won't have any free time after work for several weeks. Also my grandmother is so involved with her research that she never would accept this invitation."

"I see, that is unfortunate. I apologize for taking your time. Perhaps next time."

Slightly disappointed, Curly left the store.

XXX

Larry silently sat at the table and sipped his tea. It was not very good, but he could not really expect anything from a cheap restaurant like this.

Larry did not need to eat, drink, or sleep thanks to his ring, but he could still do so if he wanted to.

As he drank the bitter tea, he listened to the conversation going on at the next table. From what he could tell, it was a group of three guards complaining about their jobs.

"I'm telling you, being a gate guard is horrible. It's either extremely busy or extremely boring. We have to pay attention all day and if anything slips past us, we get blamed."

"Nah, the graveyard patrol is the absolute worst post you can get here. You have to be constantly alert for any undead that might attack you from nowhere."

"Yeah, at least you don't have to deal with drunk citizens constantly yelling at you for stupid reasons. I have to walk around the entire city and deal with every problem that comes up. They don't pay me enough for this."

"Yeah, that's true, we deserve better pay."

"I barely have enough to survive on. Ah, speaking of work, I think it's about time for me to go."

"Yeah, me too."

"Well, I'm heading home then. Same time tomorrow?"

"Sure"

"Whatever"

The three guards left the restaurant after paying the host. Larry took another minute to finish his tea before giving the host a copper coin and leaving.

"Now then, where should I head next?"

XXX

Later that evening, the vice-captain of the warrior troop returned to E-Rantel with his men. He was relieved to learn that Gazef was currently in the city and went to meet with him immediately. Gazef contacted Merlin, the village chief, and the mayor to arrange a meeting. Thus, once again five people found themselves in the mayor's mansion, this time in a larger room. The vice-captain replaced Theo in the meeting, who was currently at the Magician's guild headquarters.

After sharing some simple pleasantries, the five men shared what they knew about the situation. Once again, the mayor and vice-captain were shocked to learn the villagers had been revived. They even began to question Merlin's trustworthiness when he claimed that he believed they were from a different world, but they didn't push it. Eventually, the topic turned to the future and what they would do. Gazef and the rest of the warrior troop had to return to the capital to report what had happened. He also accepted Merlin's request to accompany him in an attempt to establish official diplomatic ties with the Kingdom. The villagers that were rescued from the countryside had a difficult choice before them. As their homes had been destroyed, they could either stay in the city or try to rebuild their village from the ground up. Either way, a life of poverty and hardship awaited them. Merlin floated the idea of possibly inviting some of them to stay at Silver Castle, but noted that the earliest that could likely happen would be the following year, as they needed to establish a relationship with the Kingdom first. The mayor decided he would not take any action on this issue as the situation appeared to be resolved. They were discussing the necessary supplies for the trip back to Re-Estize when someone rushed into the room interrupting them. It was Eric, the noble who was working under Mayor Panasolei.

"Mayor, we have a major problem!"

"What is it, Eric?"

"Undead, the cemetery is filled with Undead"

"Well, that's what the guards are for. A few undead are nothing to worry about."

"It's not a few, there are thousands of them"

"What!"

This new information visibly surprised everyone in the room except Merlin, who kept the same detached look on his face.

"How could there be thousands of undead in the cemetery? What caused this?"

"I don't know mayor, but the guards stationed at the cemetery walls have been overrun. They're pouring into the city as we speak."

This was very bad. Panasolei knew he had to do something or E-Rantel would be destroyed.

"Eric, this is an emergency. Summon Theo and Pluton immediately. We need to organize a defense. Warrior-captain-dono, although this may be inconvenient, I ask that you and your men assist in the defense of this city."

As Eric dashed out of the room, Gazef replied to Panasolei.

"It is our duty as the warriors of this Kingdom to defend its people. Think nothing of it, mayor. However, I must admit, I do not have much experience fighting undead. Merlin-dono, although it pains me to ask this of you again, would you and your group aid us once more?"

Merlin knew this was request was coming and had a response ready.

"I understand. Normally, I would not intervene in the affairs of another country, but if you request us to do so, we will in the interest of building a friendly relationship. Ah, chief-dono, I believe it would be best if you returned to your people and took them to a safe area."

Still shocked at the events that were unfolding, the village chief took Merlin's advice and left the room with a mumbled 'of course'

"Now then, I ask all of you as the mayor of E-Rantel to save this city. If the undead keep attacking, we will eventually be overrun. Uncover the cause of this and put a stop to it. Leave the defense of the city to the guards. I will meet with Theo and Pluton and arrange for them to send reinforcements."

"I understand, then we will depart immediately."

The remaining people in the room stood up as soon as Gazef said that. As they left the room, Merlin contacted his party with message and informed them of the situation.

The battle of E-Rantel had begun.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N**

 **Well, I seem to be on a roll here. I didn't think I could write this much in this short of a time. Hopefully, I can keep it up for a while.**

 **... and I just jinxed it.**

XXX

Overnight, chaos had descended onto E-Rantel.

Thousands of undead had suddenly poured out of the cemetery into the city. At first, the only warning was several guards screaming incomprehensible words at the top of their lungs, running away from the cemetery. This unnerved the civilians, but their confusion did not last long as several undead chased after the guards. Eventually, the people realized what was happening and fled to the safer areas of the city. Several adventurer teams attempted to fight the undead, but there weren't enough of them to protect everyone.

XXX

"Push them back!"

An adventurer wearing a gold plate around his neck shouted at his teammates. They had repelled several waves of skeletons, but now stronger undead were slowly starting to show up. They only had four members in their party, a warrior, a ranger, a druid, and an arcane magic caster. However, they were still gold ranked. They couldn't afford to lose here.

[Lesser Strength] [Reinforce Armor]

As he felt himself being strengthened by magic, the warrior charged toward the advancing skeletons and zombies. He cut dozens of them down, but more kept appearing to replace them. As time went on, more powerful undead such as Ghouls, Ghasts, and Wights joined the battle. The party would be able to hold out here for quite some time, but he wasn't sure if that would be enough.

It was going to be a long night.

XXX

Sachiko ran toward the designated meeting area with surprising speed. She had passed several guards on the way here, but they were all in a state of panic and would likely not be any help considering the situation. Eventually, she encountered several fleeing civilians being chased by skeletons.

"Run!"

"Aieee!"

Sachiko ran past the fleeing civilians and confronted the pursuing skeletons. She didn't want to waste time here, so she activated one of her skills with a limited number of uses per day. Without slowing her pace, energy radiated out from her body. Sachiko was not specialized in combating undead and had no skills to strengthen this ability. It was quite weak compared to her other abilities. However, that was relative; she was still level 100.

The result was all 27 skeletons and the four wights behind them instantly turned to ash.

Without giving them a second glance, Sachiko continued toward the cemetery.

XXX

Eventually, the main force arrived at the gates to the cemetery. There were a total of 35 people here, Despite the mayor's request to leave the city to the guards, Gazef had ordered his vice-captain to take 19 men and assist in the defense of the city while he attempted to stop the attack. This gave Gazef 29 men to command for this operation. The entrance to the cemetery was crawling with undead when they arrived, but they were quickly cleared away with a few [Fireball] and [Scorching Ray] spells courtesy of Merlin.

Gazef led the force into the cemetery and began searching for the cause of this disturbance. Unfortunately, the undead were much more numerous than originally anticipated. They kept coming in waves with no end in sight. After fighting through the hordes, they were surprised to find an area that the undead seemed to avoid deep in the cemetery. Gazef felt that this area was worth investigating, but he didn't want to get attacked from behind, so he decided to leave a rear guard. Larry, Moe, Sachiko and 17 warriors would guard the rear, while Gazef took Curly, Merlin and a dozen men ahead.

Eventually, the group arrived at a chapel with several people standing in a circle in front of it, chanting something. They all wore black robes that covered their bodies and held wooden staffs. There was also one man in the middle holding what appeared to be a black stone in his hand. They were obviously conducting some sort of ritual.

This was far too suspicious. Chances were this group was behind the attack on the city.

As they approached, several of the people glanced at them. One of the men looked at Gazef and nearly shouted.

"Khazit-sama, we have a problem!"

The man in the middle of the circle glared at his disciple who had spoken. He then turned to the group and his eyes slightly widened when he noticed Gazef.

"Who are you people? What are you doing here? Are you behind the attack on E-Rantel?"

Gazef shouted at the group of suspicious individuals. Meanwhile, Merlin and Curly were focusing on the chapel. Both of them had already used a skill to detect any nearby life forms and they knew they weren't alone.

"Hmph, so what if we are?"

"Then you will pay for all of the suffering you have caused."

Gazef drew his sword. Around him, his subordinates readied for battle

"Aah, the mighty Gazef Stronoff in the flesh, I finally get to meet you"

A voice rang out form the chapel.

"The Kingdom's mightiest warrior, I look forward to killing you."

A blonde woman in wearing a cloak stepped out from the shadows of the chapel. Her appearance and actions were strangely cat-like. Gazef addressed her with caution.

"And who are you?"

"Ah, I'm Clementine, pleased to meetcha."

Gazef looked at this new arrival. She didn't look very strong, but Gazef knew very well looks can be deceiving.

"Clementine, be careful, he's strong. We can't hold back."

"Don't warry about it, Khazi-chan. I can handle him. Now then, mighty warrior-sama, please give me a good fight."

Gazef was slightly confused. The woman was clearly overconfident. Did she not understand the situation? They were outnumbered and although he did not have the Kingdom's treasures with him, he was still a mighty warrior. Still, she should be confident for a reason, so Gazef reasoned that she would be quite a skilled fighter.

BOOM

Without warning, a large mass of skeletons dropped down from above and placed itself between the two groups. This was a skeletal dragon, a powerful undead creature.

"Clementine, we can't take any chances, crush them with everything we have."

[Reinforce Armor], [Lesser Strength], [Shield Wall], [Undead Flame]

Magic enveloped the skeletal dragon, increasing its power.

Merlin decided that he should give Gazef and his men some assistance. He decided to hold back on direct attacks and only support them a little in case the enemy was hiding a trump card for later. He was especially cautious about the second life signature he detected in the chapel. Since there were so many of them, Merlin only cast one defensive spell on each of them.

[Protection Energy: Negative], [Protection Energy: Negative] …

Once he had cast his magic on all of them, as though agreed in advance, the two sides commenced battle.

XXX

Minas Elkhart swung the club at the advancing skeleton. The results were spectacular. Not only was the attacking skeleton completely annihilated but parts of its body flew off and damaged two other skeletons. Pushing his advantage, Minas took out those two skeletons as well as the corpse egg behind them with a few more swings. With that, four undead were removed from the battle.

"Keep attacking! Don't let them regroup!"

Minas dispatched another skeleton as he yelled at his comrades. Minas led a platinum-ranked adventurer party and was currently leading several other adventurer parties in the defense of E-Rantel.

He had to admit, the weapon he held was quite impressive. Normally, it would take a few powerful attacks from him to destroy a single skeleton, even if he used a blunt weapon instead of his usual sword. However, this club made it much easier.

Minas was well acquainted with the members of the magician's guild in the city and often took jobs from them. As luck would have it, he had just returned from a job when the attack began. The magician's guild master, Theo Rakesheer, had personally requested that they assist in the defense of E-Rantel and loaned his party several magic items they were trying to sell, mentioning something about being a demonstration. At first, he had questioned the power of this club, but Theo had assured him it was powerful. Minas decided to trust Theo on this, and reasoned that a blunt weapon would be more effective against skeletons, which he was almost certain to encounter.

A skeleton slipped around behind him and swung its sword. Minas was not in a position to block, so he moved forward, reducing the strength of the attack and followed up with a swing of the club, destroying the skeleton. While he had avoided a fatal blow, the sword had penetrated his armor and he sustained a deep cut on his back. Normally, this would greatly affect his fighting ability, however, this cut quickly began healing itself. This was an effect of the amulet he wore, which healed him. Although there was a limit to the amount of damage it could heal per day, it allowed Minas to continue fighting. This amulet was another item that Minas had received from Theo.

'After this battle, I'm definitely buying these'.

As he thought that, Minas continued destroying the countless skeletons before him.

XXX

Gazef Stronoff took a quick look around the battlefield. At the moment, things did not look good for him.

Currently, they had not taken down any of their enemies, and six of the twelve warriors who followed him were out of the battle. While they were not dead, they were either unconscious or badly injured.

Curly was standing by Merlin to guard him against any attacks. Several times already, the woman they were fighting had slipped past their front line in an attempt to attack Merlin, and every time she had been repelled by Curly. Merlin had been casting spells to support them, but even so, their enemies had overpowered them. The skeletal dragon looked dangerous, especially with the strange black flames coming from it, but those flames were repelled by Merlin's magic. Despite how strong the dragon looked, it had only defeated one warrior so far. The summoned undead had defeated two others while the strange woman called Clementine had taken down the rest. Gazef had to admit, she was quite skilled. Although he had never heard of her, she had managed to keep up with him.

Clementine dashed toward Gazef again. As he parried her attack, she slipped past him and headed toward Merlin. Trusting Curly with defense, Gazef instead headed toward the skeletal dragon. He used one of his trump cards against the dragon.

[Sixfold Slash of Light]

One slash became six, and all of them hit the skeletal dragon. Normally, slashing attacks would not be effective against a skeletal being, but the sword Gazef wielded, granted to him by his king, could do bludgeoning damage as well. Gazef would generally not use this attack against a single opponent for fear of the enemy evading and counterattacking, but the skeletal dragon was quite large and couldn't dodge easily. This attack would normally be more than enough to defeat a skeletal dragon, but this one had been strengthened by magic. It was injured, but still in one piece.

"Hmph, [Ray of Negative Energy]"

Once again, Khazit used negative energy to heal the skeletal dragon.

Gazef silently cursed under his breath as he saw the dragon's injuries healing. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that Curly had successfully repelled Clementine's attack again.

"Ah, so strong~. Why don't you come and play with me some more over here~?"

Curly ignored Clementine's taunt and held his ground.

While this was happening, Gazef's men were busy fighting undead summoned by the men surrounding Khazit. They weren't very strong, but their numbers were constantly being replaced. His men were slowly starting to tire and soon another one fell.

At this moment, Merlin cast a spell at Khazit.

[Sleep]

[Mind of Undeath]

Khazit countered with a spell of his own, and then focused on Gazef.

[Scorching Ray]

[Magic Destruction]

Khazit had already seen several [Acid Javelin] spells bounce off Merlin's protection spell, so he tried a fire spell this time. However, Merlin intercepted the spell, causing the rays of fire to vanish.

"..Tsk, how annoying."

Khazit was slowly getting frustrated at not being able to end the battle. However, things seemed to be going well for him and it would only be a matter of time. Already, another warrior fell before the onslaught of the undead summoned by his disciples, leaving only four remaining. Merlin, noticing the course of the battle, decided to be a little more aggressive. He was still worried that their foes were saving a trump card, but if he kept using low tier spells, they would be defeated. Turning his focus to the remaining warriors, he cast several buffs.

[Strength] [Dexterity] [Haste] [Angelic Aura]

Merlin was originally designed as a DPS caster, but he did have several support spells. In fact, considering the low average level of the people in the Kingdom, he was easily the strongest support caster in the country, assuming one did not count those of Royal Order.

After casting several buffs on the warriors, they quickly overpowered the undead and started heading to Khazit and his disciples. Slightly surprised, Khazit ordered the skeletal dragon to intercept. Merlin decided to use another buff spell to give the advantage to the warriors.

[Greater Magic Weapon]

The lead warrior's weapon lightly glowed and with a single swing of his bastard sword, the skeletal dragon was destroyed. Shocked by the sudden destruction of the dragon, Khazit and his disciples were unable to move, and the remaining warriors took advantage of this, quickly closing the distance and beheading all of them.

Meanwhile, Gazef and Clementine were locked in battle. Both of them noticed the destruction of the skeletal dragon and the defeat of Khazit and his men. Clementine considered her situation. Should she continue to fight or flee? Before she could decide, Merlin cast a buff on Gazef.

[Infinity Force]

Suddenly feeling a huge amount of power in him, Gazef seized the initiative and dashed toward Clementine with amazing speed. Shocked by this sudden burst of speed, Clementine hurried to raise her stiletto in defense.

[Invulnerable Fo…

Before the martial art could activate, Gazef's sword hit the stiletto, knocking it away and cutting off Clementine's left arm. With a fluid motion, Gazef sliced off her legs and knocked her unconscious with a kick to the face. Turning to face his subordinates, Gazef called out.

"Is everyone still alive?"

"Looks like it Warrior-Captain. We have several heavy injuries that need to be tended to quickly though."

"Don't worry, I've called the others and they should arrive here soon."

Trusting Merlin's word, Gazef and his men gathered the injured men in one area. Shortly afterward, the rear guard arrived. Gazef learned from them they had indeed been fighting off undead, but hadn't taken any major injuries. After explaining the situation to Sachiko, she agreed to heal the injured warriors and keep Clementine alive for questioning.

As Sachiko went to work, Gazef, Merlin and Curly decided to investigate the chapel. Inside, they found a boy in a strange, transparent outfit with a weird spiderweb-like crown on his head. Someone had cut him across his face and punctured his eyes, blinding him. Despite that, he should have noticed them enter the room, so it was likely something was affecting his mind.

"Huh"

"What is it, Curly?"

"This boy looks familiar. I think I've seen him before somewhere"

"Where?"

"I can't remember, but it was probably somewhere in the city."

"Oh well, no use worrying about it now."

Merlin decided to table this conversation and focus on the task at hand.

[Detect Magic]

As anticipated, the only magic the spell detected came from the crown. Merlin cast another spell.

[All Appraisal Magic Item]

The spell took effect and Merlin learned about the crown on Nfirea's head.

"Huh, that's unusual"

"What is it, Merlin-dono?"

"Well, while this item is quite powerful, it takes over the mind of its bearer. Also, it seems there is no way to safely remove it without destroying it."

"What a terrible item."

Gazef truly felt this way. He had never heard of any item like this. There were stories of items that could mentally affect its bearer, but the effect would end once the item was removed.

"Well, despite how powerful this item is, I think it would be best if we destroyed it. What do you think warrior-captain-dono?"

"I agree, an item like this should not exist in this world."

Gaining Gazef's approval, Merlin cast his spell.

[Greater Break Item]

The crown shattered into countless motes of light and Nfirea slowly fell forward. Gazef caught him before he hit the floor and the three left the chapel. Outside, Sachiko had finished her job and they asked her to heal Nfirea as well. Once they had gathered the bodies and items of the culprits, the group set out back into the city. While there were still some undead around the city, they would be destroyed shortly. The adventurer's guild and magician's guild would have to send people to investigate this incident later, but for now, their job was finished.

The Battle of E-Rantel had been decided.

XXX

 **Well, this marks the end of the part of the story I had planned out from the beginning. Fortunately, I have been struck with inspiration and can continue writing for now.**

 **In case you're wondering, yes I know that there are a few things from the LN missing in this chapter, and yes, I do have plans for those. Also, Khazit did not get a chance to summon the second skeletal dragon.  
**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N**

 **Made a few changes in the earlier chapters again. This is getting routine, so I won't make a notification when I do so from now on.**

XXX

The sun rose upon a devastated city. Although there were relatively few deaths, the property damage was staggering and the people were afraid. Incidentally, most of the damage was not caused by the undead attack, but by the panicked people destroying things in their attempt to flee.

The city would take time to recover, but an investigation had to be made immediately. The magician's guild and adventurer's guild sent teams to inspect both the ritual site and the items recovered. The lone survivor among the suspected culprits, Clementine, had awoken but refused to speak. The mayor originally wanted to keep her in E-Rantel for questioning, but eventually agreed to Gazef's request to transport her to Re-Estize.

It was discovered that the boy they found in the chapel was Nfiera Bareare and he was an innocent victim of the situation. His grandmother, Lizzie, had rushed to the adventurer's guild, where he was being questioned, once she learned of the situation. Upon hearing their names, Curly finally recalled where he saw Nfirea before. Lizzie was very grateful to the people who had rescued her grandson and promised to do whatever she could to repay them. Gazef refused the offer, stating that it was his duty, while Merlin asked to have a discussion with her about potions when he returned to E-Rantel.

E-Rantel had increased its security in the aftermath of the undead attack. Mithril-ranked adventurer teams were hired to oversee the situation and ensure the safety of the city. E-Rantel was home to three Mithril-ranked teams, but none of them were in the city at the time of the attack. Naturally, they had all been hurriedly recalled, but they only arrived after the situation had been resolved.

XXX

Moe walked down the streets of E-Rantel. There were far fewer people today than the day before, but that was to be expected.

He was currently in a bad mood. Just a few minutes prior, a man named Igvarge had yelled at him. Moe couldn't understand what he was saying because he was so enraged, but he could make out a few words and phrases such as 'stealing glory', 'opportunist' and 'unworthy'. Naturally, Moe had ignored him, but this only served to anger Igvarge more, to the point where he almost attacked before being dragged away by his companions.

Merlin had informed the group that they would be staying in E-Rantel longer than anticipated, as Gazef had to deal with the aftermath of the attack and prepare supplies for his travel. Once again, they were allowed to explore the city and do what they pleased, within reason. This time, however, they were given much more money to spend. Apparently, the items Merlin left at the magician's guild had been sold and they now had a large supply of currency. Merlin had teleported most of it back to Silver Castle, but they still had an ample amount.

Moe eventually found himself before a large, fancy building. Pulling out a pair of glasses, he read the sign above the entrance.

"Shining Golden Pavilion, huh? Well, let's give this place a try."

Moe entered the fancy inn and treated himself to an expensive lunch.

XXX

Merlin leaned back in his chair. Although his ring removed his need to sleep, he could still suffer from mental exhaustion.

The room he was in was quite lavish. After the events at the cemetery, the Mayor of the city offered to host the five of them in his house. Even though he felt it was unnecessary, Merlin accepted the offer.

He had just returned from yet another meeting with the mayor, the guildmasters of the magician's and adventurer's guilds and Gazef. They had discussed the situation in the city and were investigating the events leading up to the undead attack. Originally, he was not meant to attend the meeting, but Gazef insisted. Apparently, this attack had been planned for some time and the culprits belonged to a secret society called Zuranon. While Merlin had never heard of them before, this fact seemed to disturb everyone else in the room. Further investigation revealed that the boy they recovered was the holder of a rare talent that let him use any magical item. Merlin had never heard about talents before and made a mental note to ask someone about it later. It turned out that the boy had been abducted the night of the attack while he was on the way to visit a friend. At first the mayor and guildmasters couldn't understand why he was targeted, but after Gazef told them about the crown, they managed to figure it out. Several magical items were discovered at the scene and on the bodies of the culprits. These items were currently being analyzed by the magician's guild. Even with all of this information, they could not understand the goal of the culprits.

After gong in circles for several hours, they finally decided to switch topics. The plans for rebuilding the city didn't really involve Merlin, so he tuned that part out. The mayor regretfully informed them that due to the attack, it would take longer than anticipated to gather the supplies Gazef requested for the journey to Re-Estize. There was also the issue of Clementine. Although she had lost her legs and part of her left arm, Gazef was still worried that she would try to flee. At first, he requested specialized equipment and transportation for prisoners, but after hearing how long it would take to prepare that equipment, Merlin offered his assistance. They decided to tie Clementine to a horse instead of using a carriage. Although it was quite cruel to do so, especially for a long journey, no one spoke up against it. They eventually decided on their departure date and travel route, and then adjourned the meeting.

Merlin relaxed in the chair for a few more minutes before getting up. The next meeting wasn't for another hour, but he had to teleport back to Silver castle to get a few magic items that he anticipated he would need. While he was there, he might as well give Serenity his report in person.

XXX

Three days later, the warrior band led by Gazef, along with the representatives from Royal Order left E-Rantel. The five representatives from Royal Order rode horses that Merlin had brought from Silver Castle via teleportation. Naturally, he had teleported them some distance away from the city to avoid arousing suspicion. These horses were actually level 25 mounts that were occasionally used in YDDGRASIL. They were equipped with numerous low quality magic items that gave various effects. Gazef, Larry, and Merlin surrounded Clementine's horse during the journey. Incidentally, the mayor of E-Rantel had given the horse that carried Clementine to Gazef.

The trip to Re-Estize was long and uneventful, which was a blessing in a way. They did not encounter any monsters or demihumans, but did occasionally pass a group of travelers, even deciding to camp with one such group. It took them two days to get to Re-Estize. They had left E-Rantel late in the morning, camped out one night, and arrived early in the afternoon. The warrior troop's spirits were high upon safely returning home. The guards at the gate instantly recognized Gazef and let him in immediately. Clementine was taken to a prison where she would be interrogated while the warrior troop headed back to Ro-Lente castle. Merlin informed Gazef that he was interested in purchasing a small house in the capital and Gazef informed him where to go for that. After telling Merlin where to find his house, he headed to the palace to inform his king of the events that had occurred.

The citizens of Re-Estize went about their business, unaware that a new chapter in their history was about to begin.

XXX

 **Shorter chapter this time. I could have added more, but this seemed like a good place to end it.**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N**

 **I noticed something strange with my story. Sometimes, when I update a chapter, the updated date does not change, even though the chapter successfully uploads. Does anyone else have this problem?**

 **Eh, it doesn't really matter I guess. On with the story.**

XXX

Merlin walked down the central road of the capital, admiring the large and magnificent houses. While they weren't nearly as impressive as Silver Castle, they were among the best he had seen in this world. Eventually, he arrived at his destination. It was a place with three towers, each five stories tall, surrounded by several narrow two-story buildings, all of which were surrounded by wide walls.

This was the headquarters of the Kingdom's Magician's Guild.

"Although Theo did describe it, seeing it in person is something else."

Musing to himself, he approached a sturdy looking door flanked by numerous guards. One of the guards stopped him before he could enter the building and asked if he had business here. Without saying a word, Merlin produced a sealed envelope and handed it to the guard. The guard took a quick look at the envelope and went into the building.

The envelope he had given the guard was addressed to the guildmaster of the magician's guild. It was a letter of recommendation from Theo Rakesheer. After a few minutes had passed, the guard returned to escort him to the guildmasters room. Merlin looked forward to discussing magic with this new acquaintance.

XXX

Sachiko walked down the winding roads somewhere in the capital. Merlin had gone to visit the magician's guild and Moe said he wanted to try the cuisine of this city. Curly and Larry decided to stay at the house Merlin had purchased. It was quite spacious and was two stories tall, but relatively cheap, as it was far from the city center and not well furnished. Merlin had teleported to Silver Castle to get a few additional pieces of furniture, but it was still quite lacking.

As Sachiko continued deeper into the city, she noticed the streets started to become dirty and a stench permeated the air. She wanted to see what this city was really like, away from the main roads where everything seemed nice. She had expected it to be bad, but not this bad.

As the sun started to set, Sachiko decided that she had seen enough and it was time to head back. As the turned around, a heavy iron door slowly opened up around the corner of one of the alleyways. After a man emerged and looked around, a heavy sack was flung out the door just as Sachiko turned the corner. As she passed the sack, she saw a small, bony hand emerge from it. Slightly startled, Sachiko inspected the bag and discovered a girl with blonde hair that was clearly beaten and malnourished.

"Hey, are you alright?"

The girl did not answer. Sachiko decided to heal the girl, but before she could, a voice called out to her.

"Hey, where did you come from?'

A large man appeared in the doorway. He held a lantern that gave off a red light and stared at Sachiko with hostility.

"What are you looking at lady? Get lost, if you leave now I'll let you go."

"Would you tell me what's going on here? Why is this girl in this state?"

"That's nothing you need to know, this girl is our employee and she has nothing to do with you.

"I'll decide if she has anything to do with me."

"Why you little..."

The man reached out to grab Sachiko, but she intercepted and grabbed his hand by the wrist. Silently putting pressure on the man's wrist, she glared at him with hostility. Sachiko may have been a healer, but she was still level 100 and possessed strength far out of reach of ordinary people in this world.

"Aah"

Realizing that he had bitten off more than he could chew, the man quickly changed his tone.

"Forgive me, there is nothing that you need to do here. This girl is sick, so I was going to take her to the temple."

"I see"

Releasing the man, Sachiko turned to the girl on the ground.

[Middle Cure Wounds]

A light glow briefly enveloped the girl and her breathing steadied.

"Well, that should stop her from dying for now, but she should still go to the temple. I will take her there for you."

The man seemed surprised. He squeezed out his next words.

"There's no guarantee that you'll take her there."

"Indeed, I intend to take her to my residence in the capital first in order to heal her. If I'm not mistaken, temples charge for healing and she doesn't look like she has any money."

"You're a worker"

The man came to this incorrect conclusion. Sachiko didn't bother correcting him.

"If you wish, you could accompany us, it shouldn't take that long."

"I'm busy right now so I can't. I'll take her to the temple later. Besides, that's legally ours. If you take her with you then it's kidnapping."

"It's not kidnapping if the person in question requests it."

"The guards won't see it that way."

"Well, if they have a problem, then they can discuss it with me later."

Seeing that this was going nowhere, the man changed tactics.

"Hey, listen lady, it's going to be a huge problem if you take that girl. Don't you know about Eight Fingers?"

Naturally, Sachiko had never heard of them before. The man was shocked to see that she hadn't.

"What! How could you not have heard of them? Especially since you're a worker!"

"I am not from around here. Either way, I'll be taking this girl with me."

"Don't be stupid, just pretend that you didn't see anything. If you take her, they'll come after you and punish me for screwing up."

"Even so, I can't just turn a blind eye to this situation."

"Please don't, I'll be a dead man!"

"That is your problem. Do something about it. Call for help, flee, I don't care."

Sachiko wished to help those in need, but knew that she couldn't help everyone. The man had made his own choices, so he would have to live with the consequences of those choices.

Leaving behind the stunned man, Sachiko gently carried the sack with the girl and headed back to the house.

XXX

By the time Sachiko returned to the house, the others were all there as well. Sachiko informed them of the situation and it was decided that they would shelter the girl for one night and take her to the temple tomorrow. Although this seemed to be somewhat heartless given her situation, the five of them decided they couldn't afford to offer her any more aid, as they had business to take care of. Sachiko took the girl to a spare room and healed her. She had a short conversation with her and learned about her situation. Her name was Lilia, and her family had sold her back when slavery was still legal in the Kingdom.

Deciding to let her sleep in a room upstairs, Sachiko went to the main room downstairs. As she didn't need to sleep thanks to her ring, she considered going on another walk around the city but decided against it. Eventually, dawn broke and it was time to take Lilia to the temple. However, before they were ready to leave, someone knocked at the door. Larry went to greet their guests and brought in three men. One had wide shoulders and was somewhat fat, reminding one of an over privileged noble, and the other two seemed to be solders of the Kingdom. The first man introduced himself as patrol officer Stafan Hevish and asked to meet with the people in the house. The three of them were brought into the main room and met with Larry, Merlin and Sachiko. The two soldiers stood by the wall and let Stafan handle the discussion. He claimed to be investigating a kidnapping and possible violation of the law banning slavery.

"Well, we followed the trail and it led back to this residence. I believe that the lady sitting there is the culprit in this crime."

"To my knowledge, I have committed no crime here. I did assist a young lady in need, perhaps that was mistaken as a kidnapping?"

Sachiko told Stafan what Lilia had told her. Stafan looked completely disinterested in the story.

"We cannot trust testimony from a single source, besides I am not here to investigate the shop. The fact remains that you took the girl and that must be investigated."

"Well, high lord Fresh Face did say one must help those they can. The wisdom of the lords should not be ignored."

Stafan gave Sachiko a confused look, but before he could say anything Larry interjected.

"Of course, sometimes their words are confusing."

Merlin and Sachiko suddenly turned to Larry

"What are you saying Larry, the lords and high lords words are what guide us."

"I know, Merlin, but some of them are confusing. Didn't high lord 7seven7 always like to say 'screw the rules, I have money'. Do you know what that means?"

"Yes, that is indeed quite confusing, I understand the words, but there must be a hidden meaning. Now that I think about it, there are many of their words that I do not understand. For example, I believe lord Starman had an unusual battle-cry, I believe it was something like …"

"Leeroy Jenkins"

"Yes, thank you, Sachiko. It still baffles me why the other lords would get angry at him when he used it though."

"Excuse me, but can we get back on topic?"

Slightly irritated at being ignored, Stafan interrupted their conversation.

"Ah, I apologize, we were reminiscing about the past. Now, where were we?

"About that, a report has already been made on this incident, so I have to arrest you people and investigate as soon as possible, by force if necessary. Of course, if you settle with the store, this matter can be handled quietly"

"I see, however, we are not citizens here, but merely visitors. We are on a diplomatic mission to establish ties with this country and therefore as of yet do not recognize any of your laws."

Slightly taken aback, Stafan hesitated for a moment before responding.

"What do you mean? Everyone in the city is bound by its laws."

"Not us, at least not yet anyway. You may consider us foreign ambassadors. It would be quite troublesome for both if us if this escalated, but we have no intention of backing down."

"Do you want me to bring the whole squad here to haul you off to prison?"

Merlin and the others didn't flinch at this outburst. They knew quite well just how powerful they were compared to the average human in this world.

"You may do so if you wish, but we would be obliged to resist. I do not wish to cause an incident, but it cannot be helped if this continues. I am willing to solve this diplomatically, but I will not be bullied."

Stafan began foaming at the mouth. He knew that there was no point in continuing this discussion. Deciding to withdraw for now, he shouted a threat as he left.

"This isn't over yet!"

XXX

 **Lilia is not an OC, she is mentioned in the LN. I think she's only mentioned one time though. I originally intended to use an OC in her place but while I was skimming the LN, I saw her mentioned and thought I might as well use her.**

 **Also, I know that this far into the future, they would have new memes. Sadly, I don't have a time machine, so I can't find out what they are. For this story, I just used the ones we had today.**

 **Just to let you know, the events I have planned in this arc happen some time before the corresponding arc in the LN.**


	10. Chapter 10

The Kingdom's Warrior-Captain, Gazef Stronoff, bowed before his master, King Ranpossa III. They were currently in the depths of Valencia Palace, in a meeting with the Six Great Nobles. That being said, not every noble was here. Only four of the six, Margrave Urovana, Marquis Volumalash, Marquis Raeven, and Marquis Pespeya were here; Marquis Bowlrob and Count Ritton were absent. Several other lesser nobles were present, but they did not hold much influence here. None of the King's children were present in the room.

The king was an old man who looked as though he should be resting in bed, yet he gave of an aura of vigor. He was indeed old, but Gazef thought what truly aged him was the constant political battles in the capital.

After a customary greeting, the king asked for Gazef's official report. Gazef described in detail the events that had happened after he left the Royal Capital, including the events at Carne Village and E-Rantel. Naturally he left out any mentions of the involvement of the Slaine Theocracy, deciding to tell the king in private later. Yet again, everyone was shocked to learn that the villagers had been revived. Several nobles questioned if it really happened and noted that Gazef himself had said he had not seen it in person, but rather heard about it from others. Gazef praised the five adventures he had met, who aided him in his mission.

"Is that so? These people you encountered seem to quite admirable individuals."

Several nobles exchanged gossip about this group. They were concerned that an unknown group had suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Some were worried about the strategic importance of a group with a castle in the country's borders, especially one that wasn't affiliated with them.

"Your majesty, I should mention one more thing. The mistress of the castle has requested the establishment of diplomatic ties with us. She has sent the five adventurers I mentioned as ambassadors. They wish to have an audience with you as soon as you are ready."

Several murmurs rose from the gathered nobles, but the king silenced them with a wave of his hand.

"Very well, I shall meet with these emissaries. I must also convey my gratitude to them for assisting my vassals in their mission. We will arrange a meeting later. Then, let us conclude your report here, Warrior-Captain. There are other matters to discuss."

The meeting continued for another hour, with the nobles discussing other matters, such as the upcoming annual war with the empire.

XXX

Meanwhile, in a house far from the center of the city, the five adventurers also concluded their meeting. They had discussed the visitor they had earlier that morning and what should be done. As the owners of the business they had heard of would likely target the girl Sachiko rescued, Lilia, they had decided that they would shelter her until they believed it was safe to take her to the temple. More troubling was the threat of the man that they had met, Stafan. All five of them agreed that he was a despicable person, but they were unsure if he was impersonating a guard or was a corrupt one. If it was the former, it was no problem, but if it was the latter, there was a chance he would manipulate information to bring the city guards to arrest them. While they could easily defeat the guards, they truly wished to avoid combat and therefore decided to run instead of fight in that scenario.

After planning for contingencies, the group went about their business. That said, they had nothing to do. They had to wait for a messenger from the palace to summon them before they could begin negoitations. Merlin gave the occasional update to Serenity after Stafan's visit, and there were no new developments. While they were waiting, Moe decided to go shopping for some food. Although their rings removed the need for them to eat, Lilia did not have one. They had an infinite flask with them, but they did not have any food in the house.

The rest of the day went by without incident. Moe brought back some soup for Lilia to eat and then all five of them did battle with boredom. Sadly, they were losing.

XXX

In the dark of night, five figures silently made the way to their target. Although it wouldn't have been a problem if they were noticed, they wished to avoid attention.

Their target tonight was a house with six people inside. They had been ordered to capture the two girls with blonde hair alive if possible, but if they resisted, they were to kill them. The other four were to be killed on sight. It was just past midnight, so they should all be fast asleep.

The five arrived at their destination. It was a quite a large house, but it seemed to be poorly maintained. The lock was easily picked and the five of them silently rushed in.

Immediately, things went wrong. In the main room, which should have been empty, five people were present. They all looked bored, but they all held some type of weapon. At first, the assassins thought someone had tipped them off, but quickly dismissed that thought. If that were the case, they would have been attacked immediately upon entering the building, or possibly before then. Suddenly, the one with a bowl-cut hairstyle stood up and addressed them.

"Who are you? What are you doing here?"

Without a word, the assassins sprang into action. They each charged one of the people in the room.

They never stood a chance.

XXX

After knocking the intruders unconscious, the five adventurers gathered them in the center of the room and secured them with Merlin's [Magic Chains].

"Well, not that I appreciate being attacked, but at least something happened"

Everyone wanted to rebuke Curly but they couldn't as they all felt the same way.

"Well, let's start the investigation."

Merlin shook one of the attackers awake. Just as he became lucid, he cast his spell.

[Charm Person]

The man's eyes suddenly became relaxed as he fell under the spell. Merlin and the others then began their questioning.

Apparently, they were assassins belonging to a criminal group called Eight Fingers, the same one that owned the business that threatened them. The assassin told Merlin what their orders were, but they did not know why they had been given those orders. They were also unable to confirm if the man called Stafan was actually a patrol officer or an impersonator, but they did learn he was a member of their organization.

After all of their questions had been answered, Curly knocked the assassin unconscious again.

XXX

The next morning, Larry, Moe and Merlin prepared to take the assassins to the patrol office, but were once again interrupted by someone knocking at the door. Praying that this wasn't the start of a trend, Merlin opened the door and saw Gazef and a young boy waiting outside.

"Ah, warrior-captain-dono, welcome, we've been expecting you."

"Merlin-dono, it is good to see you are doing well. I am here to arrange your meeting with the king and nobles. Do you have time to discuss it now?

"Before that, who is this young man beside you?"

The boy stepped forward and introduced himself.

"I am Climb, a loyal solider of this country."

"I invited him along. He was quite interested in meeting all of you after I told him of your exploits. I hope it doesn't trouble you in any way."

"No, no, it's fine. However, an issue has come up. We originally intended to have the local authorities handle it, but perhaps you can assist us."

Merlin invited Gazef and Climb in and took them to the main room. Both of them were surprised to see the men chained in the middle of the room, but understood the situation after Merlin explained it. Deciding to continue the interrogation, Merlin used [Charm Person] on another assassin and let Gazef and Climb ask their own questions. They learned about the true nature of the business that they had come from and what was happening there.

Climb was especially furious. Despite the efforts of his mistress, things like this were still happening.

'Well, what should we do now, should we take them to the station?"

Climb responded to this question with a voice filled with conviction.

"Do that if you must, I will go and rescue the people in that horrible place."

Gazef stared at Climb with concern.

"Climb, I understand your feelings, but attacking alone is reckless. We don't know how strong the people there are. You shouldn't risk your life like that."

"I understand, but I cannot just abandon them. This is something I have to do, or I won't be able to show my face in front of her."

"I figured that you'd say something like that. Well then, Merlin-dono, it seems that we will be destroying that place. Might I ask what you plan to do?"

"Hmm, well, we seem to be involved in this as well. I believe it would be best if we accompanied you. However, this seems to be quite an unusual situation. Is it OK for you to take this action?"

"The Eight Fingers are scum that dirty the Kingdom. It is my duty to see that they are exterminated."

"Very well then, however, there is still the matter of these assassins."

After a short discussion, it was decided that Merlin would take the assassins to the guardhouse and report this incident, Larry would stay at the house to watch Lilia, and the others would attack the brothel. Gazef and Moe would assault the front entrance while Climb, Curly and Sachiko would take the back.

With the plan decided, the groups left the house and headed toward their assigned destinations.

XXX

 **Do you ever have a problem where you're trying to write something, but can't think of anything? Well, I've encountered the opposite problem. I've been coming up with ideas for this story even when I'm away from my computer or outside, so I can't write it down for a while. I know I've forgotten several great ideas by now, but I guess there's nothing I can do about it.**

 **On the bright side, thanks to all of these ideas, I have a lot of material to work with.**


	11. Chapter 11

Panasolei Guruze Dale Rettenmaier, the mayor of E-Rantel, leaned back in his chair. It had been a long day for him.

E-Rantel was slowly recovering from the undead attack and it was clear it would survive, but things were still difficult. There was much work to do.

To complicate matters, a serious incident had occurred. One of the senior members of the magician's guild had slaughtered his colleagues and started creating many undead that attacked everyone in sight. The magicians and adventurers were shocked, as he was a somewhat famous and well-liked individual. They eventually managed to subdue him, but not after sustaining several casualties. Upon further investigation, it was discovered that an item that he was inspecting, taken form one of the corpses of the culprits of the undead attack, had controlled him. The magician's guild had to place several magical seals on the item until they could figure out how to properly dispose of it. Additionally, considering the danger of the item, they required teams of adventurers protecting them in the event another incident occurred, which reduced the number of adventurers able to guard the city.

This incident happened after the bodies of the suspected culprits had disappeared. That also required adventurer teams to investigate.

Panasolei had considered hiring adventures from other towns to assist in this crisis, but the fees would be exorbitant. Given the financial state of the city and the Kingdom, he couldn't' afford to spend that much money.

As he was deep in thought, Eric barged into his office once again. This was the third time this had happened today.

"Mayor, we have another problem."

"Don't you know how to knock?"

"I apologize"

"Never mind, just get on with it."

"Yes sir, apparently a party of adventurers have been wiped out on a patrol. There was only one survivor who made it back to town. He says their main force attempted to subjugate a group of bandits and were all killed or captured. Pluton wants to send a rescue team immediately to retrieve the survivors."

Since the undead attack, Panasolei had convinced the guildmasters of the adventurer's and magician's guild to consult him before making any major decisions.

Panasolei could understand how Pluton was feeling, but in their current situation, they couldn't afford to send any adventurers away from the city.

"Tell Pluton that we need all adventurers to assist in the city. We don't have the resources for anything else."

"Yes, sir"

As Eric left, Panasolei made a silent prayer to the gods for the safety of those adventurers. For now, they were on their own.

XXX

Gazef approached the thick metal door. It was extremely study, and he doubted whether he would be able to break it down. Turning to his companion, he asked a simple question.

"Well, can you do it?"

Moe looked at the door. Even he wasn't sure if he would be able to safely break it down with his strength alone. While he was level 100, he was a ranger who specialized in DPS, with a few tracking classes. He had no skill to open locked doors. If he used his full power, it might not only destroy the door, but the entire building as well. Fortunately, he did have a few options.

"Please stand back, Stronoff-dono"

Gazef took a step back, and Moe produced a few vials of clear liquid from his vest. These were low-tier consumable magic items that did acid damage. It was one of the many items that Serenity had asked Moe to take with him.

Incidentally, the vest that Moe was wearing was actually a magic item that could store a large number of items.

Moe threw the vials at the hinges of the door. With a hissing sound, the metal melted and the door fell in front of them. Without missing a beat, Moe drew his bow and launched an arrow at the large man with spiked hair behind it. The man screamed in pain as the arrow went straight through his chest without hitting any vital spots. Gazef stepped forward and kicked the man unconscious while Moe launched two more arrows at the two men who came out from deeper in the building. The arrows pieced their skulls, killing them instantly.

Before the assault, everyone had agreed that they would try to keep one of the people they attacked alive per group to gather information. The rest would be killed if they didn't surrender. Climb seemed a little hesitant about this, but didn't raise an issue.

The two of them cautiously opened the door in front of them and entered the next room. This room was filled with the smell of cheap alcohol and blood. The two men in the room took one look at Gazef and started to run. This earned both of them an arrow in their knees. Once the surviving prisoners were gathered in the room, Gazef used some strong-arm interrogation tactics to obtain the location of the secret entrance to the shop below, before knocking them unconscious. Moe produced some thin wire from his vest and expertly tied them.

Gazef approached the hidden door and pried it open with the edge of his sword. As he pulled open the trapdoor, he noticed a crossbow set inside the secret entrance. The tip of the arrow loaded in the barrel was covered in some liquid. It was obviously poison.

"Well, that was quite dangerous. I wonder why it didn't fire."

"Maybe it was jammed"

Silently accepting Moe's reasoning, Gazef continued to the lower floor. That trap had been unexpected and quite dangerous. Although Gazef was wearing chain mail under his armor, if the arrow so much as scratched him, he would have to use the rare potion he had been saving.

Moe followed Gazef down into the basement. As he descended the stairs, he clutched a small amulet in his hand. He could still use it many more times today, more than enough for this operation.

XXX

Climb, Curly, and Sachiko stared at the wooden door with edges reinforced with steel. They were currently underground after descending from the stairway. The door ahead of them was originally locked, but Climb used his 'Bell of Open Lock' to unlock it.

"That's quite the useful item you have there."

"Thanks, a friend gave it to me"

Accepting Curly's praise, Climb led the way into the next room. It was a hall filled with wooden crates and a large cage. There was a door on the opposite side of the hall. Facing his comrades, Cimb turned to the next issue.

"So, how are we going to do this?"

"I think its best if I went ahead alone while you and Sachiko stood guard here."

"Are you sure? Do you think you can handle the situation alone?"

"Don't worry about me, just make sure no one escapes"

Turning toward the door, Curly discreetly used two magic items to unlock the door and remove any traps and spells that might be set there. Wordlessly, he moved deeper into the brothel.

Climb and Sachiko decided to look around the room. They inspected several crates, but found nothing noteworthy. Climb was confused at all of the clothing in the boxes, but Sachiko told him not to worry about it, stating that he'd understand when he's older as she winked at him.

As they continued searching the room, both Climb and Sachiko were startled by a loud noise. Suddenly, two men appeared from the large crate. Too late, Climb realized that the crate was the exit of a secret tunnel.

"I see, so there were intruders. Still, why didn't the 'alarm' spell go off?"

Sachiko had removed all of the alarm enchantments in the building before they had entered, yet somehow their presence was detected.

"Huh, those two look familiar. Ah, if it isn't the dog of the princess and the kind stranger. Succulent, I want them alive."

"I will require additional fees."

From the way the two of them talked, one was likely an important member of the business and the other was probably a strong fighter. Climb didn't know who they were, but he knew he was in trouble.

"Don't worry, I'll support you."

As if reading Climb's mind, Sachiko reassured him.

Succulent drew his sword and took a battle stance as he faced off against Climb. For a moment, Climb thought that the sword was swaying, but quickly brushed it off as his imagination.

Standing behind Climb, Sachiko saw the same thing he did, but instantly realized what it was. She had a magic item that allowed her to see past illusions, but didn't know if Climb could do so as well. Deciding to err on the cautious side, she silently cast a spell on Climb.

[Silent Magic: True Sight]

Climb was startled for a moment. The Succulent he had been focusing on had suddenly become fuzzy, and another image of him appeared beside him, lunging toward his side. Trusting his instincts, Climb quickly jumped back.

"What!"

Succulent let a word slip out of his mouth in surprise as his attack missed. The boy should have been focused on the illusion in front of him and shouldn't have been able to dodge that last attack completely. Succulent brushed off the dodge as a fluke and approached Climb again, this time using his illusions to change where Climb perceived his arms to be.

Succulent had classes in illusionist and fencer. As a pure warrior, his skills fell short of Climb. Additionally, in this situation, where he wasn't aware that his opponent could see through his illusions, his tactics worked against him.

He didn't realize his mistake until it was too late.

Climb dodged his attack again and stuck Succulent with a powerful overhead blow. It dug deep into Succulent's orihalcum chain shirt and he fell to the ground, unconscious from the blow.

The second man, seeing Succulent defeated, turned and ran toward the exit. However, Climb pursued him. Approaching him from behind, Climb stabbed him in the back and followed up with a kick, knocking the man unconscious. Climb dragged the man back to the center of the room as the door opened again and Gazef, Curly, and Moe walked in.

"Well, what happened here?"

Climb took a sharp breath before responding to Gazef.

"These men tried to escape. I don't know who they are, but they seem to be high ranked people here."

"And you defeated them? Well done."

"It's not like they were strong or anything. The one in the chain shirt was only about as strong as the palace guards and the other one ran."

"Nevertheless, this is a clear victory for us. We've managed to rescue many people and capture several criminals. Now, I think it's about time we called in the guards. I will handle the explanations."

With that, the Gazef left the building as Moe tied up the two men with wire. Curly silently gave thanks that Stafan was among those they had apprehended.

XXX

 **Not everyone can have a better ending in my story. Unfortunately for her, Brita got the short end of the stick this time. I don't dislike her, but I don't see how her party can beat Brain.**

 **Also, yes, Tsuare was rescued with the others.**


	12. Chapter 12

"How can you be out of magic recovery potions?"

"I'm sorry sir, but ever since the attack, many people have been buying potions, so our stock has been exhausted."

"But I saved up for weeks to buy it and I need it now more than ever."

"I'm sorry, but there's nothing I can do about it."

Enri Emmot tried to calm the customer down. She understood how he felt, but nothing could be done about it.

Enri and her family were villagers and had no way of making money in the city. When they arrived in E-Rantel, they didn't know how they would survive. Fortunately, she had a friend that lived in this city. Nfirea agreed to let her work at his grandmother's shop so she could support her family. Originally, Nfirea offered to support them himself, but Enri insisted she work.

Nfirea had promised to help Enri get accustomed to the job, but he was kidnapped during the attack on E-Rantel. After he was rescued, his grandmother, Lizzie, insisted that take a few days off even though he said he was fine. As a result, Enri had to work at the front of the shop by herself.

Further complicating matters, after the attack, demand for potions skyrocketed. Enri was constantly busy and the shop's stock of magic recovery potions was exhausted in two days. Lizzie did make more, but she quickly ran out of materials and that batch sold out quickly too. They were also running out of magic herb potions.

Despite the stress of the job, Enri had to keep working. The villagers she had come here with had received a generous gift from their village saviors, but that money would not last forever. The villagers would have to find work. Until then, Enri would help support them as much as she could. In a frontier village, everyone had to work together and that spirit stayed with her.

"I guess it can't be helped then. I'll take two magic herb potions and one herb potion."

"Thank you sir"

The man left after paying and Enri was able to relax a little.

'Hopefully Enfi comes back soon.'

As she thought that, another customer entered the shop.

XXX

Late at night, a suspicious group of five people stood outside the destroyed brothel. The five of them all wore different equipment, but anyone in their presence could tell they were dangerous.

This area should have been crawling with guards, but their superiors had ordered them away. The bolder-like man looked at the partially melted door and spoke, disgust evident in his tone.

"How pathetic, even with a member of Six Arms guarding them, they still fell so easily. This is humiliating."

The lone woman among the five spoke up next.

"Well, they were attacked by the renowned Gazef Stronoff. Succulent wouldn't stand a chance against him."

"Ah, it appears that Succulent wasn't beaten by the Warrior-Captain, but by a young palace guard instead"

"What!"

Three voices sounded out in unison at the information provided by Malvmist. The large man who was clearly their leader, Zero, spoke up.

"It's true, several sources confirmed it."

"So, does that mean the guard who defeated him was strong?"

"No, it means that Succulent was weak"

"But he's a member of Six Arms, even though he is the weakest among us, he is still quite powerful."

"Apparently not"

"Enough!"

Zero shouted at his bickering subordinates. They quickly fell silent.

"We will need to get to the bottom of this. I'll arrange to have him released."

"And Cocco Doll?"

"Don't worry about it, he can handle himself. We will help him if he asks, but do not interfere otherwise."

"What about the client list?"

Zero gave a snort before answering.

"We will help Cocco Doll with that as well. Once that is done, we will kill the ones who attacked this brothel, all of them."

"Even the warrior-captain?"

"Did I stutter? All of them"

XXX

Merlin sat in a waiting room in Valencia Palace. It was quite luxurious. Even compared to the guildmaster's room in the magicians guild it was impressive, but perhaps that was to be expected.

After the attack on the brothel the previous day, Gazef arrived at the guardhouse just as they had finished questioning Merlin. Gazef vouched for Merlin again and used his authority to take several guards with him to the destroyed brothel. They were shocked at what they saw, but they followed their orders and secured the building. Climb left to return to his master while Gazef and the others returned to the house Merlin had purchased. After a relatively short discussion, they decided to meet with the king the next afternoon. It was set at that time because the king wished to meet them soon to avoid interference by the nobles, but he already had appointments before that time, so he couldn't see them then. Originally, all five of them were to appear before the king, but after some discussion, it was decided that only Merlin would go.

Merlin had gotten permission to visit the royal library and spent his morning there, looking up information about things such as talents and martial arts. Time flew by quickly and before he knew it, it was time to meet the king.

After sitting in the waiting room for about 15 minutes, a servant came to escort him to meet the king. Merlin was allowed to keep his staff again as the king trusted the word of the warrior-captain. Merlin entered the chamber, and saw an elderly man sitting on a golden throne with a crown on his head and a scepter in his hand. It may have been a trick of the mind, but Merlin thought that this man looked sick. Before he could follow that train of thought, the servant beside him spoke.

"Your majesty, I have brought the ambassador from Royal Order."

"You may take your leave."

Despite the intentions of the king, they were not alone in the room. Marquis Volumalash, Marquis Raeven and three lesser nobles were also present.

"Now then, we have several things to discuss, but first, allow me to express my gratitude for assisting the warrior-captain during his mission."

A snort rose from one of the nobles. Ignoring it, Merlin accepted the king's thanks.

Merlin and King Ranpossa III spent the next 40 minutes talking to each other, with occasional interjections by Gazef or one of the nobles. Eventually, it was agreed that the Re-Estize Kingdom would recognize Royal Order as a sovereign entity with borders at the edges of Silver Castle's territory, plus a large area of land on one side of the edge of the castle grounds. Additionally, the Kingdom agreed not to march a large force within a set distance of the agreed upon borders. The Kingdom and Royal Order would establish a basic trade treaty and non-aggression pact and use that for the basis of a further relationship.

Agreeing to these points was done quickly and easily, but hammering out the details took some time. Eventually, both sides were satisfied and they reached a verbal agreement.

"Well, Merlin-dono, it appears that covers about everything. I shall have a scribe record our agreement in an official treaty. We will have it signed later."

"That will be acceptable. Before I leave, I have a gift for you and your country as a sign of goodwill."

Merlin produced a short stick from under his robes. It was about thirty centimeters in length. The item he held was beautiful, made out of ivory and coated in silver with runes inscribed along its length.

Gazef stepped forward to receive the item in place of the king. As he took it, he asked Merlin a question.

"What exactly is this?"

"That, warrior-captain-dono, is a wand of revival. It contains a spell that can revive the dead. From what I heard from you, resurrection magic is rare in your country, so Lady Serenity and I agreed that this would be a suitable gift for you."

The people in the room were stunned silent. Resurrection was indeed a rare and valuable magic. If the item was what Merlin claimed it to be, it would be valuable beyond measure.

Marquis Volumalash was the first to recover.

"I believe there is one person in this Kingdom that can use resurrection magic. If I recall correctly, she uses a 5th tier divine spell called 'raise dead'. Are you saying that this wand contains that spell as well?"

"Not quite, this wand contains the 7th tier spell 'revive'"

Once again, the people in the room were shocked. 7th tier magic was said to be beyond the reach of humanity. Even the archmage of the empire was said to only be capable of the 6th tier.

"Well, although it's a higher tiered spell, its effect is basically the same. The only difference is the amount of energy that is left with the person resurrected"

"Still, magic of the 7th tier, are you certain that is correct?"

"You may inspect the wand if you wish. I have delivered it to the kingdom as a goodwill gift, so what you do with it now is none of my concern."

Ignoring the expressions of disbelief on the faces of the nobles, Merlin respectfully bowed and left the room.

XXX

After the meeting with the king, Merlin returned to the Royal Library. He spent most of his afternoon there and left as the sun began to set. As he walked out of the building, he heard a voice from behind calling him.

"Merlin-dono"

"Ah, Warrior-Captain-dono, good evening"

"Good evening to you too, might I trouble you for a moment of your time?"

"Is this about the wand?"

"No, not this time, I do have questions about that, but I will ask later. Could we talk in a more appropriate setting?"

Merlin accepted Gazef's request and they went to his house to continue their conversation. Merlin was surprised to find that it was a normal house with only two servants. He had expected something grander.

After they entered what looked like a dining room, Gazef revealed the reason he had sought out Merlin. Apparently, Gazef wanted Merlin's assistance in attacking the Eight Fingers. Merlin did not know the details of this organization, but Gazef told him that it was the largest and most troublesome criminal organization in the Kingdom. They had struck a blow against the Eight Fingers by destroying the brothel and several people in the Kingdom wanted to follow up by chasing them out of the capital. Due to certain reasons, they couldn't use their main forces for fear of leaking information. Gazef had come to request the aid of Merlin and his group in this operation.

"I see, I think I understand the situation you're in. Unfortunately, Royal Order has just made an agreement with the king and nobles of this country. Without an official request, I cannot assist you as a member of Royal Order."

Gazef looked disappointed at this response.

"I understand. I apologize for putting you in a difficult position."

"That being said, should you ask my companions and me as a personal request, we may be able to help in a personal capacity. Of course, we would be acting on our own and you would not have the support of Royal Order."

Merlin knew it was wise to have Gazef owe him a favor personally. He had already saved Gazef's life in the past, but that was as a member of Royal Order. He wished to gain his personal favor as well. In addition, Merlin respected Gazef and wished to help him.

Gazef suddenly looked more hopeful as he responded.

"Really, well in that case would you be willing to help us?"

"I'll have to discuss it with my colleagues, but I should have an answer for you in a few hours. Will that be acceptable?"

"Yes, that should be fine, do you mind if I accompany you so I can hear your answer as soon as you decide?"

"That will be fine."

Accepting Gazef's request, they walked back to Merlin's house.

XXX

Upon arriving at the house, both of them immediately noticed something strange. The windows to the house had been broken and from the looks of things, it had happened recently. Deciding to err on the side of caution, Merlin cast message and contacted Curly.

"Curly, are you there?"

"Ah, Merlin, yes, I'm at the house right now. We just had some unwelcome guests."

"Is everyone OK?"

"Yeah, these guys were nothing to worry about."

"I'm outside the house; I'll see you in a few seconds."

Cutting the message, Merlin turned to Gazef.

"It looks like everything is under control, let's go in."

"Are you sure? This looks dangerous. How do you know that?"

"I have my ways."

With that, Merlin entered the house, Gazef following closely behind him.

Upon entering the main room, they found ten men tied up and unconscious, with Curly, Larry, and Moe standing over them. Larry informed Merlin and Gazef that they had been attacked again and Sachiko was looking after Lilia. With the help of charm magic from Merlin, they began interrogating the captured assassins. To no one's surprise, they were from Eight Fingers again. They had been sent to kidnap Lilia and leave behind a note. Their superiors did not tell them anything else. After receiving the note from the assassins, they learned that it was a ransom note telling them to come to a location in the city the following night.

After learning all of this, Merlin spoke to Gazef.

"Well, Gazef-dono, it appears that this Eight Fingers will not leave us alone. Given the situation, I believe this does warrant a response from Royal Order."

"It appears so. Then, will you help us in our operation?"

"I don't think we have a choice now. You can count on our support."

Gazef bitterly smiled at this turn of events. While it wasn't what he envisioned, it seemed he had secured the support of Merlin and his colleagues.

XXX

 **I originally intended to use blue, blue-green, and green potions in the original draft of this chapter, but after checking the LN, I couldn't find any mention of the color of the herb and magic herb potions were, so I decided to not mention their color. Maybe it was mentioned in the LN, but I'm too lazy to go through the entire thing just to change one small section.**

 **Also, in this fic, wands of revival and wands of resurrection are different items. They both use resurrection magic, but of different tiers.**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N**

 **I'm a little surprised that people didn't reveal Lilia's identity and where to find her in the comment section. From what I know of the internet, people love to post spoilers or explain information. Eh I guess it doesn't matter.**

 **I think I ramble too much ...**

XXX

Serenity sat alone in the library skimming through a book. She had come here several times the past week. Although she had a lot of work to do, much of it could be delegated. There were only a few things that needed her direct attention, such as investigating the scrying spells that were targeting Silver Castle. These spells seemed to come from two locations and while the anti-scrying barrier blocked them, they would need to investigate those locations later. Still, she was here for a reason.

There is wisdom in the saying 'knowledge is power'. Serenity intended to arm herself with the knowledge that existed in this library. There were five categories of books in YGGDRASIL. One of those categories was novels in the form of book shaped items. Most of the books in this category were things like old and classic literature, background stories, or fanfiction, but there were several nonfiction books amongst them.

While learning about the history of YDDGRASIL and reading epic tales was interesting, Serenity was searching for books filled with wisdom. She had already found several books filled with knowledge and wisdom, such as 'The Art of War', 'How to Handle Negotiation', and '10 Habits of Highly Successful People'. There were also many other books that had nuggets of useful knowledge. Although some of the information conflicted, she was able to understand the meaning behind the words and learned new things. While the overwhelming majority of the books she had looked through weren't what she was looking for, finding the few useful books had made it worthwhile.

Serenity planned to recruit several others to help her in her search for wisdom later. There were so many books in the library that even if everyone from Royal Order helped, it would still take months to go through all of the novels. Closing the book she was skimming through, she picked another one from one of the shelves.

Although YDDGRASIL strictly forbade all adult themed material, the administrators and game masters could not monitor everything. Sometimes, players successfully introduced material that was not allowed and this material could remain undetected for years.

Several minutes later, Serenity summoned Miranda and Black Belt to the throne room. She forbade anyone from entering the library without her permission and told the two of them to inform the other servants at Silver Castle of this. Miranda noticed that Serenity's face was slightly red and asked if she needed healing. Serenity said that she was fine and dismissed them before returning to the library. Miranda and Black Belt were slightly confused by this order, but dutifully followed it.

XXX

"Are you feeling OK?"

"Yeah, I should be fine"

"Don't push yourself too hard, remember you have allies to support you"

Climb smiled as Sachiko checked on him. His armor, which was usually white and sometimes gave off a shine, was pitch black. He had used a magical item to change its color. The group leaders, including Climb, had just finished their meeting. For this operation, each member of the adamantium ranked adventurer group 'Blue Rose', Climb, Gazef, and Merlin, had been assigned as leaders. Merlin had requested that his group's involvement be kept on a strictly need to know basis. Each group was given a location to attack and once they had subdued their location, they were to head to a designated location to wait for new orders. They had to consider the possibility that one group would be overwhelmed and need support. Additionally, they also had to avoid their enemy finding out the location of their headquarters until the operation had succeeded.

The locations they were to attack was discovered among the information seized from the brothel. Unbeknownst to most people here, a certain influential individual requested one of the locations added to the attack list.

Incidentally, the designated meeting area happened to be a mere two blocks from Merlin's house, but that was likely a coincidence.

Climb was assigned to lead Curly, Sachiko, two former orichalcum ranked adventurers working for Marquis Raeven, and several others, totaling 24 people.

Merlin led Larry, the other three former orichalcum ranked adventures working for Raeven, and several others, totaling 20 people.

Of the former orichalcum adventurers employed by Marquis Raven, the magician Lundquist and the thief Lockmeyer would go with Climb while the paladin Boris Axelson, the warrior priest Yorlan Dixgort, and the warrior, Francen would be accompanying Merlin.

Moe volunteered to assist the group protecting the girls that had been rescued from the brothel. They would be hiding in a large room in Ro-Lente castle. Additionally, the people from Silver Castle agreed they would inform him once they had completed their objectives. Naturally, they did not tell the others this. Lilia had reluctantly agreed to accompany Moe and help talk to the other girls.

After a pep talk by Lakyus and a brief visit by Gagaran, Climb's team departed into the night. The other teams soon followed.

XXX

Climb's group approached their target. It was a building with tall walls, resembling a fortress or prison. It was impossible to see anything from their current distance.

Climb, Curly, Sachiko and Lockmeyer had gone ahead of the group. Lockmeyer was a thief and the other three had magic items to conceal them. Lockmeyer went ahead to scout out the building. After about 20 minutes, he returned to give his report.

"It's me, I'm back"

The thief was invisible, so he announced his presence. That being said, the only one there who couldn't see him was Climb, as Curly and Sachiko had magic items for this purpose.

"Well, what's in there?"

"It seems like some sort of training ground. The building has a lot of rooms, a few with heavy security, but there aren't that many people here. This is probably a building owned by the Security Branch of the Eight Fingers. Also it looks like three members of the Six Arms are here."

"What!"

Climb barely managed to keep his voice down.

"It seems so, leader. 'Undying King' Deibanock, 'Void Executioner' Peysilian, and 'Thousand Kills' Malmvist, three people matching their descriptions are in the building."

Climb was worried. They had expected no more than two of the Six Arms to be at any given location. It would be extremely difficult to take this building.

As Climb was contemplating, Sachiko addressed him.

"Don't worry, leader. We should be fine. If there are only three of them, it should be worth it to try to attack."

"But, what if"

At this point, Curly interjected.

"If we're outmatched, then we can still retreat. We still don't know how powerful our enemy is. We should at least try to find out. If we overthink this, we will be paralyzed by indecision."

Climb thought for a few moments before hesitantly agreeing with Curly. After a brief debate, it was decided that they would split into three groups. Climb, Sachiko, and Curly would assault the front as a diversion, while Lockmeyer and Lundquist would each lead a group and attack from the sides. Curly and Sachiko originally requested to go alone, but Climb insisted he accompany them as the leader. Sachiko did manage to convince him to stay behind her when they attacked in order to keep an eye on the situation. In reality, she just didn't want him to get in the way. If he fought on the front lines, both of them would have to keep an eye on him.

With the plan decided, they began the operation. Curly used an item to silently destroy the front gate, allowing them to sneak in. They would start destroying things once they were in the building, as they didn't want the fight to spill out onto the streets.

XXX

Malmvist walked down the corridor, bored out of his mind. His boss, Zero, had gone to retrieve one of his disgraced colleagues. He took Edstrom with him and told the rest of them to wait at this location. While Zero did his business, they were preparing to take down several targets in this city. One of them was quite powerful, but alone he could not defeat all of the Six Arms.

Malmvist had heard that the mission to kidnap a certain girl had failed. This would not be tolerated within Eight Fingers. The ones who failed would likely be punished and possibly killed and one of the Six Arms would probably be sent to do the job properly.

As he thought about taking a walk in the garden, Malmvist heard the sound of an explosion and some screams. As he rushed toward the sound, he idly thought that he would have some entertainment tonight.

XXX

"Wow, that was impressive"

Curly had used an item to destroy the side of the building. The explosion was very large and noisy. Anyone in the area would hear it.

"Well, that's sure to get their attention. Now all we need to do is wait until, ah, I see they're here."

As Curly spoke, three figures emerged from the shadow of the building. Seeing them, Climb gulped. They were the ones whom he was worried about.

"Well, well, you know how to make an entrance. Now, however, it's time you made your exit, form this world that is."

As Peysilian spoke, Sachiko motioned for Climb to back up. Curly confronted the three and addressed them.

"Well, sorry to disappoint, but things won't go as you plan tonight. Seeing as how your organization won't leave us alone, we will have to destroy you. "

"Hmph, all talk, take this!"

At Deibanock's declaration, Sachiko prepared a defensive spell.

[Ice Storm]

[Shining Shield]

The hail of ice hit a wall of light and dissipated into nothing. The light flickered for a moment before disappearing.

Peysilian took a stance while Malmvist made a squawk and dashed toward Curly. Curly parried Malmvist's lunge and kicked him into the remains of the wall, knocking him unconscious. Deibanock took this opportunity to cast another spell.

[Blight]

[Holy Aura]

Once again, Sachiko countered Deibanock's spell. The next moment, an invisible energy emitted from Sachiko. While none of the living beings here were affected by it, as soon as it hit Deibanock, he turned into ash.

Peysilian didn't notice Deibanock's defeat as he had his back was turned to him and he was focused on the enemy in front of him. Curly dashed towards Peysilian, who kept his stance. Once Curly was about three meters away, Peysilian moved, drawing his sword and slashing. Seeing this, Climb was slightly confused at Peysilian's actions as he thought Curly was well out of the range of the sword. The next instant, he was surprised to see Curly had jumped back.

Peysilian was shocked. No one had ever seen through is 'Dimensional Slash' before. Before he could react, Curly charged at him again. Peysilian tried to bring his sword back to defend, but he wasn't able to make it. Curly's sword pierced Peysilian's armor and went straight through him. He stumbled back, but Curly followed up with a powerful kick to the groin. Peysilian let out an ear-splitting scream before collapsing unconscious.

With the battle decided, Curly produced some wire from under his armor and began restraining Malmvist and Peysilian. Climb, surprised at this outcome, turned to Sachiko.

"Well, that was a lot easier than expected. I thought these guys were supposed to rival adamantium ranked adventurers."

"Leader, we should probably meet up with the others."

Not noticing that Sachiko had changed the topic, Climb agreed. They began to discuss who should watch over their prisoners when several of their allies emerged from around the corner. Lockmeyer, who was leading them, looked at the defeated members of Six Arms and walked up to Climb.

"Leader, what happened here? How did you defeat them?"

"Surprisingly, they weren't as strong as we thought. Anyway, what happened on your end?"

"Ah, we captured a few people and seized a few documents, but it doesn't seem we got anything important. We should probably head to the meeting place."

"Yeah, you're right. Take Lundquist and a few guards with you and take these two to the holding area. I'll go with the others to the meeting place."

With that decided, the groups headed to their destinations. Curly used his message ring to contact Moe before following Climb to the designated meeting area.

XXX

 **Let us all have a moment of silence for Peysilian's family jewels. No man deserves to experience that.  
**

 **Also, here's another fun fact: I originally intended for the two NPCS with Serenity be a good aligned demon and an evil aligned angel. Eventually, I decided it would be easier to write it like this, so I changed my mind and put what we have now.**


	14. Chapter 14

"Hey, are you sure you don't want a break?"

"I'm fine, don't worry about it."

"Are you sure? There's more than enough people to cover for you."

"Thank you, but I said I'm fine."

Moe watched the man shrug his shoulders and walk away. He was currently standing watch over Lilia and the others rescued from the brothel. There were several guards here as well and they had arranged to take shifts in their duty. As Moe was using magic items, he did not get tired and did not need to take breaks. Naturally, the guards did not know this and many asked if he needed a break.

If that were it, Moe would not be nearly as tense as he was now. However, for some reason, he could sense hostility coming from several of the guards here. He didn't know what he did to anger them, but it kept him on edge.

It would be a long night.

XXX

"Well, did it work?"

"Yes, I can see them now."

Merlin answered Yorlan's question and continued to observe the building. Despite this being a cloudless night, the quarter moon did not provide them with much light. It was difficult to operate in the dark, but they couldn't create a light source without revealing themselves.

Merlin and his group had been sent to attack a mansion. They had arrived without incident, but were unsure what waited for them within. Several people suggested sending in a scouting party, but Merlin vetoed that idea. Instead, he brought Larry and the three former orichalcum adventurers with him and approached the mansion. About half a block away, he stopped and produced several magic scrolls from beneath his robe and used them. He explained to the three confused people around him that he would use magic to scout the building.

"Well, that's quite useful. Still, isn't it expensive to use so many scrolls?"

"We don't have a better choice right now. Ah, it seems I've found some people. There are a group of three people talking"

"What are they saying?"

"I'm sorry, but the spell I'm using doesn't let me hear them, only see them."

"Ah, that's unfortunate."

Merlin continued to use his 'Arcane Eye' spell to scout out the mansion. Eventually, once he felt he had found everything he could, he ended the spell.

"Well, I think that's enough. From the looks of things, three of the Six Arms are in that mansion"

"What!"

Three voices rang out. They were surprised voices, but they were not very loud.

"Indeed, from what I remember from the descriptions I was told, it seems that 'Battle Demon' Zero, 'Dancing Scimitar' Edstrom, and 'Devil of Illusions' Succulent are in there."

"Wait, I thought Succulent was captured."

"Indeed, he was. It seems he managed to get free somehow."

"How could he have gotten free? I thought he was detained under royal authority and heavily guarded?"

"I don't know, but this is troubling. Anyway, what should we do leader? I don't think we can take this place down."

Merlin thought for a moment before answering Boris.

"We must attack. Even if we can't win, we should be able to draw out the battle."

"But"

"If we leave them, the other targets may call for assistance and our allies may be outmaneuvered. If we tie them down here, we should be able to hold out until reinforcements arrive."

"Are you sure?"

"It is the best course of action."

Merlin ordered his forces to surround the mansion while he attacked with Larry. He explained this as wanting to intercept any messengers that might come. In reality, Merlin intended to end this with Larry and have his forces catch anyone who tried to flee. He instructed his forces to advance into the mansion if they saw a fireball spell above the mansion and retreat if they saw a lightning spell. Merlin did not plan to use the lightning spell, but just said that to make it seem he was prepared to withdraw. If he did actually need to run, he would not bother going on foot, but use teleportation instead.

Merlin gave his forces 10 minutes to get into position, and then he and Larry used items to make themselves invisible and entered the mansion. There were many people here, but they didn't seem to be fighters. If anything, they looked like nobles at a party. The two slipped past them and went to where Zero, Edstrom, and Succulent were seen last.

As Merlin and Larry entered the room, they were surprised to see Zero standing over the lifeless corpse of Succulent, with two women behind him. Before they could act, Zero spoke.

"I apologize for this unsightly display, Lady Hilma. Please dispose of the body. I will pay you for your services later."

"Hmph, it will cost you. You've ruined my beautiful carpet."

"Well, that takes care of business. Come, Edstrom, we will return to the others."

At that moment, Merlin and Larry chose to reveal themselves. Merlin spoke first.

"Well now, what do we have here?"

"Huh, who are you two? What are you doing here? Well, it doesn't matter. Both of you will die anyway."

"Might I ask why there is a dead man here?"

Zero sneered at Merlin.

"Hmph, I have no use for trash. Besides, I see two more dead men in front of me."

"I see. I had prepared to fight him as well, but I suppose that is no longer necessary."

Sensing the change in atmosphere, Zero tensed up.

"Edstrom, kill these two. Do not disappoint me like Succulent."

The woman with countless golden bangles on her wrists and ankles stepped forward while the other woman in a fancy dress stepped back. Edstrom drew one sword from her waist while the other five floated in the air. Suddenly, the swords flew towards Larry and Merlin, attacking from unusual angles. Larry expertly deflected the blows with his spear while Merlin created a magic barrier that repelled the swords. Seeing her swords were useless against the magic barrier, Edstrom focused on Larry. As the swords closed in on him, Larry dashed at Edstrom. Edstrom raised her sword in defense, but was knocked back by the force of Larry's attack. At that moment, Merlin cast a spell.

[Lightning Chamber]

Edstrom was blindsided by the spell. Lightning bounced back and forth in an area around her and struck her several times. Once the spell ended, she collapsed and the swords she was controlling fell to the floor.

Zero was surprised by this outcome. While Edstrom did make a few mistakes, these two were stronger than anticipated. Deciding not to waste time, he dashed toward Larry and shot his fist at him. Zero had intended to knock Larry out with this attack, but Larry used his spear to block it. Zero tried to slip past Larry and head toward Merlin, but he was forced to jump back as Larry thrust his spear.

[Blind]

Zero felt magic block his sight, but he managed to resist the spell. As his vision cleared, he was forced to jump back again to avoid another thrust from Larry. His instincts told him that the spear could pierce his body, even when hardened with skills.

These opponents were powerful. Additionally, he didn't know if they had backup. Deciding not to take any chances, Zero used his trump card. He activated his Shamanic Adept skills and strengthened his body with animal spirts. He would kill the one with the spear and withdraw while the other was shocked. Once he met up with the other members of Six Arms, he would plan a counterattack.

With a roar, Zero used his 'Single Strike Kill' technique.

"Gyaaaah"

With enormous power, Zero shot toward Larry. What happened next shocked him.

As the mansion shook, Zero's attack was halted. At first, he didn't know what happened, but after a second, he realized Larry had blocked the attack with the side of his spear. Zero was unable to move from the shock of his ultimate attack being blocked. Larry took this opening. He rotated his spear and impaled Zero with a thrust.

Zero screamed in pain. The shock of his attack being blocked and countered overwhelmed him. However, he quickly recovered and realized he was in an advantageous position. Currently, Larry's spear was stuck through him, but it didn't hit any vital spots. While it was painful, Larry couldn't use his spear in this position and he was close to Zero. All Zero needed to do was reach out and crush Larry's head. Zero smiled in victory.

However, his arms wouldn't move.

Confused at what was happening, Zero tried again to move his arms. He suddenly realized that his entire body wouldn't move. Before he could ponder the reason why, his vision started to fade. Zero collapsed on the floor without understanding what had happened.

XXX

Larry withdrew the spear from Zero's body. It wasn't his normal spear, but a top-class item he had taken from Silver Castle's treasury. While it was two tiers below his normal spear, it was extremely powerful for this world.

Naturally, he also carried his normal spear with him in a magic item.

The spear Larry wielded had several enchantments on it. One of them inflicted the paralysis condition on anyone cut by it while another increased the fatigue of its targets. While these abilities could be resisted, Zero wasn't strong enough to do so.

Seeing the members of Six Arms defeated, Hilma decided to run. However, she didn't get far.

[Hold Person]

Merlin's magic immobilized Hilma. Larry approached her and tied her with wire while Merlin opened a window and shot a fireball into the sky. After that, as Larry began restraining Zero and Edstrom, he used message to contact Moe and inform him of the events that occurred. However, he didn't expect Moe's reply.

"Merlin you should come here quickly, we have a slight problem."

XXX

 **I originally wanted to have Merlin mistakenly use a lightning spell at the end, and then have Larry point out that he used the wrong spell. However, it just didn't feel right when I tried it. Not only would it have messed up the flow of the story, but in my mind, it would be out of character for Merlin.**

 **I do like to add humor to my story, but it has to feel right from my point of view.**


	15. Chapter 15

Deep in the grounds of Silver Castle, in an area with many orchards, a single human male wearing loose fitting clothing walked, looking at the trees around him. Normally, one would only find lifeless constructs tending the trees or harvesting fruits or nuts here. The man stopped at a tree and picked a green fruit from its branches.

Black Belt took a bite out of the fruit, and then quickly spat it out. It was unripe, so it tasted sour. He threw away the unripe fruit and continued on his walk.

Black Belt occasionally walked around the grounds to check how things were doing, but this early in the morning, he was doing it to relieve stress.

The previous night, strange sounds were heard in Silver Castle. No one knew where it came from, but Miranda and Black Belt both thought that a ghost, spirit, or something similar was haunting Silver Castle.

They wanted to consult Serenity about this issue, but she was in the library and they were forbidden to enter there without her permission. Instead, Miranda attempted to exorcise the spirit. However, no matter what type of spell or ritual she tired, the sounds didn't stop. Eventually, the strange sounds stopped by themselves. About several minutes after that, Serenity returned to the throne room and they informed her of the problem. Serenity told them she would try something to handle the issue herself and asked them to inform her if they heard any strange sounds the next few nights. Miranda noticed that Serenity's face was slightly red again and asked if she needed healing, but once again, Serenity refused.

Black Belt stopped at another tree and picked a yellow fruit from it. This one was ripe, so it tasted delicious. Soon, the constructs would harvest this area and take the fruit to the storage room, where they would stay until they were either consumed or used to create consumable items. He had heard Serenity planned to summon a high-level druid, possibly a treant or a dryad, using mercenary monster data from the library. The druid would help with cultivating the trees and crops and use [Control Weather] or [Control Climate] to let them grow all year round.

Black Belt was also slightly worried at the constant scrying attempts that were being launched at Silver Castle. Whoever was doing it was quite persistent. The castle's anti-scrying barrier blocked the spells, but it only protected the castle and not the grounds. In addition, the lords had designed the barrier to only block and trace scrying spells, not retaliate. They would have to launch an investigation on who was trying to spy on them later.

Thinking that he had been out long enough, Black Belt turned around and headed back to the castle.

XXX

Merlin left Larry in charge of the situation at the mansion before teleporting to Moe's location. Upon arriving in the room Moe was in, he was surprised to see the soldiers guarding the girls all dead or unconscious. The girls themselves were still alive, but they were all visibly scared. Moe informed him that several of the guards had turned on them and tried to kill everyone in the room. Moe had managed to defeat the guards that betrayed them, but not before the other guards were defeated. Fortunately or unfortunately, they had targeted the guards first, so all of the girls were safe.

Merlin told Moe to keep watch on the girls while he searched for Gazef or Laykus to inform them of the situation.

XXX

The next morning, the people of Re-Estize woke up completely oblivious to the events that had happened the night before. A few claimed that they had heard a loud explosion, heard a little girl's scream, or saw fire in the sky, but they were ignored.

While the citizens were rising from their beds, Gazef Stronoff was preparing to go to his bed. He had had a long night and wanted to rest.

The building his group was assigned to attack fell easily. Apparently, so did most of the others. Tia and Laykus from Blue Rose did have some trouble with their targets because of the large number of people they had to fight, but overall, it was a total victory for the Kingdom's forces. There was the unfortunate incident with the guards protecting the girls rescued from the brothel, but it more or less worked out in the end. Gazef was surprised to learn that the two groups with the adventurers he knew ended up fighting against and had defeated the Six Arms. He was even more surprised that four of them had been captured, including the leader Zero.

Upon receiving custody of the four prisoners, He ordered that they be incarcerated in Ro-Lente castle at the same level of security as the woman he had apprehended at E-Rantel, Clementine. However, when he and several guards escorted the four of them to the high-security area for prisoners, they were shocked to see the guards there murdered and Clementine missing. Despite the fact that he had ordered extra security, Clementine had escaped. Gazef was sure that she had help from the outside, seeing as how she was unable to move on her own, but the knowledge that a group existed that was capable of breaking into the strongest security of the Kingdom worried him.

Gazef knew that Clementine was very strong. Back in the cemetery of E-Rantel, he had witnessed her power. On skill alone, she might be stronger than him. Although she was maimed, magic could restore her limbs. Under normal circumstances, Gazef would have ordered an investigation into her disappearance, but right now, there were other major problems in the capital.

The mansion that Merlin's group had attacked was holding a party with many important and influential people. One person in particular stood out amongst them, first prince Barbro Andrean leld Ryle Vaiself. The first prince of the Kingdom had been caught at a party hosted by the rulers of the Kingdom's underworld. Naturally, Barbro and several other powerful nobles there had insisted they be freed, but deputy commander Larry had ordered everyone there detained. Eventually, it fell to Laykus to escort Barbro to Valencia Palace where he was brought before the king. Gazef did not know what happened after that, but for some reason, second prince Zanack seemed pleased with this outcome.

In addition, they had discovered several secret rooms filled with items such as narcotics, gold and magic items in several of the locations they attacked. The loss of these goods, the capture of their safe-houses, and the defeat of the Six Arms should cripple Eight Fingers for a long time. As long as they were weakened, the people of the capital would be free of their influence.

Gazef cleared his mind as he lay in his bed. He would have about five hours to sleep before he had to return to the castle.

XXX

After the attack on Eight Fingers, Merlin and his group decided to stay in the capital for three days before returning to Silver Castle. During their free time, Merlin visited the library at Ro-Lente castle and the magician's guild headquarters, Moe visited various restaurants, and Curly, Larry and Sachiko explored the city.

Time passed by quickly, and soon the day to depart arrived. Merlin and the others directly teleported back to Silver Castle with their horses. Although they had informed the king and palace guards that they would be doing this, it still surprised them. Back at Silver Castle, Merlin and his group personally gave their report to Serenity. They were somewhat surprised to learn that she had restricted access to the castle library, but didn't inquire about it. Serenity was pleased at the result of this expedition and allowed them to do as they pleased within reason.

Merlin decided to call in a favor and teleported to E-Rantel. There, he gave Theo Rakesheer a visit before meeting with Lizzie Bareare. He requested that she accompany him back to Silver Castle to discuss things with them. Initially, Lizzie objected, saying that she couldn't go on a journey and leave the city for long given its current state, however Merlin explained to Lizzie that he planned to teleport her to Silver Castle and she could return whenever she wished. Lizzie was shocked that Merlin could do something like teleport long distances, but eventually they reached an agreement. Lizzie would spend some days at Silver Castle and share her knowledge of potion making in exchange for access to some of the resources at Silver Castle. Lizzie claimed that she needed some supplies as her stock was running low and at the moment she couldn't replenish it. With the agreement in place, Lizzie informed her employees of the situation and then had Merlin teleport her to Silver Castle. Merlin brought her to the laboratory, introduced her to the alchemist of Silver Castle, and let them discuss things.

While this was happening, the others relaxed. After they all took a bath in the castle's indoor bath, they split up. Sachiko decided to take a walk through the orchards, Moe went to the kitchen to eat, while Larry and Curly entertained themselves in the recreation room. Once Merlin returned, he took a bath as well.

As night fell, all five of them decided to go to sleep. Although their rings removed the need for sleep, they still could do so if they wanted to. After being awake for a long time, almost anyone would enjoy getting some sleep. Every NPC in Silver Castle had been assigned a personal room on the second floor by Serenity. They didn't need to worry as much about patrolling the grounds as Serentiy had summoned mercenary sentries in their absence.

Eventually the five of them fell asleep, despite the strange noises coming from the laboratory.

XXX

 **Looking back at previous chapters, it seems I have unintentionally made Moe a foodie. Meh, I'll just run with it.**


	16. Chapter 16

A man with a pretty face stretched his arms as he sat on a fancy chair made of high quality wood. The room he was in was extravagant, with a soft red carpet covering the entire floor. Besides the man, there were only three guards in the room, all of them standing at attention. He stared at the papers spread out on the table before him.

This man was Jircniv Rune Farlord el Nix, also referred to as the Blood Emperor, the ruler of the Baharuth Empire.

Suddenly, without warning, the door opened. The guards all readied for battle at this action, but relaxed after seeing the man who entered the room, 'Tri-arts' Fluder Paradyne.

Fluder had the appearance of an old man adorned with many magical items. Indeed, he was old, older than everyone else in the room combined. It was said he had used magic to halt his aging and was alive during the age of the Thirteen Heroes.

"Baffling, truly baffling"

"What's the matter, gramps?"

Jircniv addressed Fluder casually. He was the only one allowed to do so.

"I've been investigating a castle that mysteriously appeared in the borders of the Kingdom. It is not in an area we normally monitor, but is too large for the Kingdom to have built it without our notice. My disciples and I investigated it with magic. There seem to be a large number of golems working as laborers in the area. This is unusual in itself, however there seems to be something even more strange. Whenever we try to inspect the castle's interior, something happens and our magic fails. It is almost like our magic is being destroyed once we look at that area."

"Is the castle of any strategic importance?"

"No, the area around it is of little value. It is somewhat nearby E-Rantel, but too far away to be used to house reinforcements for the city. There also doesn't seem to be anything important near it. I simply investigated it because I received information about the castle and hadn't heard of any construction in the area. Right now, I am only concerned because I am unable to ascertain what is inside of it with magic."

"Didn't you say there were ways to block scrying magic? Could they be using some of those methods?"

"Indeed, there are methods to block scrying. In fact, many buildings, including this one, use such methods. However, these defenses only inhibit scrying. If someone were to try to use magic to eavesdrop on the conversation in this room, they would be able to see and hear something, but it would be scrambled. The spell itself wouldn't fail."

"So you're saying they're using a different type of defense."

"It seems so."

Hearing this, Jircniv thought for a moment before picking up a piece of paper on the table and handed it to Fluder. It was information a source in Valencia Palace had sold him. Fluder took the paper and quickly read it.

"What!"

Fluder's voice was not very loud, but it was full of surprise. He had said this in response to reading about the item that the Kingdom had received.

"7th tier magic? Is this accurate?"

"It would appear so, the source is very reliable. Read the rest of it as well."

Obeying Jircniv's command, Fluder read everything on the paper. After he finished, he handed the paper back.

"I see, so you think the castle they mentioned is the same one I am investigating?"

"Indeed"

"So, they claim to be from another world, huh? I find that hard to believe. No, perhaps that is why they have such an item."

"What we have is third hand knowledge, so we can't be sure how much of it is actually true. Still, it is worth investigating. Gramps, I'm thinking about sending a messenger to invite these people to visit the Empire. They were diplomatic with the Kingdom, so I doubt that they would be immediately hostile to us."

"Yes, we should try to build a cordial relationship with them."

"That's the idea, if we can put them under our control, I will welcome them into the Empire. They would be quite valuable, especially if it is true they can use resurrection magic."

Currently, there was no one in the Empire who could use resurrection magic. Jircniv desperately wanted to recruit or train a user of resurrection magic to serve the Empire.

If possible, Jircniv also wished to obtain the wand that was given to the Kingdom. He had ordered several people to investigate that possibility, but the Kingdom had it under heavy guard. Perhaps that was to be expected, given its value.

However, if the emissaries also visited the Empire, they might receive a similar gift. The report mentioned that they were somewhat reasonable and gave the wand freely.

"If possible, I'd like to win them over to our side. Failing that, we should try to pit them against the Kingdom. At the very least, we must avoid them joining another country."

"Indeed, it would be good to have them join us. It seems at least one of them is a magic caster. I would like to talk with him. Perhaps he may be at a similar or higher level than me."

In his heart, Fluder wished this were the case. He was the most talented magic caster in the country, but that meant he had no master. He wished for someone to teach him so he wouldn't have to waste energy on trying to learn things by himself.

"Well, we will need to wait until they arrive to know more. It's best we don't get ahead of ourselves. I will dispatch a messenger immediately."

"Of course, your Imperial Majesty."

XXX

Deep within the territory of the Slaine Theocracy, in a sacred room, 12 people gathered. They took their seats around a round table after completing a cleaning ritual.

"Then, let us begin the meeting."

The organizer of this meeting was the Cardinal of Light, Ivon Jasna Dracrowa.

"Our first order of business is the result of the Black Scripture's mission to subdue the Catastrophe Dragon Lord, whose resurrection was predicted."

"I heard that mission was a failure, is that true?"

"In a sense, yes. The Black Scripture was unable to find the Dragon Lord but returned safely. It seems that they only encountered beasts and undead on their mission."

"So, we're in the same position that we were a few weeks ago."

"Indeed"

Ivon agreed with the Cardinal of Fire, Berenice Nagua Sandeni.

"Well, I guess there's nothing we can do about it right now. Let's move on to the next topic."

"Very well, the next topic concerns the Sunlight Scripture's latest mission. I believe you were all given the details before the meeting?"

"Yes, it seems that mission was a failure a well."

"Yes, they failed to kill Gazef Stronoff and were forced to withdraw once their presence became known."

"I thought they would surely succeed since we gave them the mightiest angel."

"It doesn't matter how strong your forces are if your enemy manages to escape."

"Did we catch any information using divination magic?"

"No, we didn't get a chance to use it before Gazef escaped."

"How unfortunate."

"What a wasted opportunity. Now the Kingdom will continue to rot and it may affect the Empire as well."

Several people agreed with this. They had planned to use Gazef's death to trigger a civil war in the Kingdom, but it seemed that was not to be.

"The timing of this opportunity was truly unfortunate. The Black Scripture and Windflower Scripture were both occupied with more important tasks."

"Yes, that brings us to our next topic. It seems the Windflower Scripture was successful in capturing the traitor. However, they were unable to recover the Crown of Wisdom."

"Well, at least we have some good news. How was she captured?"

"Apparently, she was defeated in battle by Gazef Stronoff and taken to Ro-Lente Castle in Re-Estize. It was a simple matter for the Windflower Scripture to capture her from there."

"Wait, Gazef defeated her? I thought she was stronger than him."

"Well, the stronger one doesn't always win. A battle is fluid and a single mistake can change the outcome. There is also the possibility he had support."

"Agreed, still, perhaps we should reevaluate his combat power in our future calculations."

"That sounds reasonable."

Ivon nodded in agreement and then turned to the next topic.

"While we're talking about Gazef and the traitor, it seems that they were involved in the incident in E-Rantel."

"The one with the horde of undead?"

"Yes, that very one. Apparently, the traitor was behind it and Gazef apprehended her there."

"Come to think of it, couldn't that incident been caused by the Crown of Wisdom? Shouldn't we investigate?"

"We already have, however, there was no sign of the Crown. The Windflower Scripture is still searching for it."

"Ah, I guess it's a dead end then. Anyway, where is the traitor now?"

"Detained in one of the prisons for high value prisoners. The captain of the Black Scripture is overseeing her interrogation."

"What? Isn't it excessive to have an awakened God-kin handle a mere interrogation?"

"He insisted. He said that it was his responsibility as her superior."

"Ah, it can't be helped then. I understand how he feels, but he is one of only three awakened God-kin in the country. I wish he would try to see the big picture."

"Yes, also, we should put more effort into finding a mate for him. Ideally, he should marry as soon as he turns twenty."

"Well, we still have time, so let's table that discussion for now. Moving on, our final topic is the appearance of a strange castle in the borders of the Kingdom, in the vicinity of E-Rantel."

"Huh, a castle? Why is that a topic for this meeting?"

"Indeed, there's nothing strange or important about the Kingdom building a new castle. If anything, it should be expected. This doesn't warrant our attention. Perhaps the Grand Marshall needs to know, but this only concerns the military."

"Yes, if this were a normal castle, I'd agree with you. However, this castle is unusual."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, we started investigating it after receiving reports of a castle located in an area with little strategic value. We were interested because there were no prior signs of construction. From what we learned, there seem to be a large number of golems tending fields. By our count, there are over 100 of them"

"What? How can that be? How could the Kingdom create so many golems?"

"Yes, and even if they were to make that many, why not keep them near the capital? Why place them so close to the border?"

"We can't be sure why they would do so. As you say, the presence of golems is quite unusual. However, there is another thing about this castle that seems interesting."

"What is it?"

"For some reason, we are unable to use divination magic to scout the castle itself. Although we can see the grounds just fine, whenever we try to inspect the interior of the castle with magic, the spell fails. This isn't normal jamming, but something causing the spell to fail. Even Thousand Mile Astrologer can't do it."

"Is that even possible?"

"It appears so."

"What should we do about this, then?"

"Well, while this is unusual, at the moment, it doesn't seem to be a pressing issue. I recommend that we gather more information before doing anything rash."

"Will that really be OK?"

"Does anyone have a better suggestion?"

The room was silent for a few moments

"I'll take that as a no, then. While I'd like to take action, doing so without adequate information is dangerous. As our forces are spread thin, we will only be able to keep the area under basic surveillance. Now then, does anyone have anything they would like to bring up?"

Again, the room was silent.

"In that case, I will adjourn this meeting. I believe that it is Dominic's turn to organize the next meeting.

"Indeed, then, let us schedule it."

After arranging a time for the next meeting, the 12 people gave another prayer before leaving the room.

XXX

 **Kind of an intermission chapter this time. I just felt like writing this.**


	17. Chapter 17

Merlin walked past the edge of the boundary of Silver Caste's grounds and into the town beyond it. Although it was called a town, it was actually just a group of tents clustered around a relatively large two-story building. It might be more appropriate to call it a small settlement. As per the agreement with the Kingdom, the land the town was on was recognized as belonging to Royal Order. As such, Royal Order was in charge of governing it.

It had been three weeks since he had returned from Re-Estize and already things were starting to change.

The building itself was created with an item from the treasury. It functioned as a shop to sell various items produced at Silver Castle. The tents belonged to visiting merchants who needed a place to sleep. The shop did have rooms for visitors on the second floor, but they weren't offered for free, so many merchants chose to use their travel tents instead. These guest rooms were not nearly as good as the ones in Silver Castle, but the residents of this new world would consider them high-class.

As Merlin walked toward the town, he passed by a golem covered in armor and wielding a sword and shield. This golem was one of many that patrolled the town and castle to guard against intruders, such as bandits or wild animals. These warrior-golems were summoned from books from the library. While they weren't very strong by YDDGRASIL standards, being only level 42, they were considered powerful for this new world. Serenity decided to summon them because Merlin and his group could only be in one place at a time, or five places if they split up, and she wanted to deploy Merlin's group in missions outside the castle later. Serenity predicted that the town they had started would grow in the future, and the people there would need protection or the town would be destroyed.

When Serenity told the others at Silver Castle of her plan, several people questioned why they were summoning the warrior-golems when other creatures would be more effective in combat. Serenity responded by pointing out that the golems did not need to eat or sleep and could do their job indefinitely. Other creatures, while more powerful, were usually living beings that would have upkeep costs. Considering this, the golems were arguably the best choice for the job, as they could operate indefinitely, were strong enough to deal with most problems, and sturdy enough to last until help arrived if they were outmatched.

Serenity intended to attract skilled people to this new town and possibly convince them to work for Royal Order, producing usable items. While the stock of supplies in the treasury was very large, if not replenished it would eventually run out. Therefore, Serenity restricted the use of consumable items that they could not replace and told everyone to use items from this world if possible.

Already, it seemed that they had successfully recruited a talented individual. Lizzie Bareare, the best herbalist that lived in E-Rantel, had been invited to Silver Castle to discuss potions with their alchemist, but after seeing the many types of potions available in Silver Castle, she begged them to let here stay here so she could learn how to make these potions and continue her research. After a negotiation with Serenity, they agreed to let Lizzie stay and loaned her one of the many guest rooms on the second floor. By YDDGRASIL standards, it wasn't anything impressive, but Lizzie claimed it was fit for a king.

Incidentally, every custom NPC in silver castle was also given a room, as well as several of the girls that were rescued from Re-Estize who chose to come to Silver Castle. Even then, there were many extra rooms available. Not even one fifth of the rooms were occupied.

In exchange for letting Lizzie stay, she agreed to sell the potions she made to Royal Order. She was permitted to sell her potions to the general public, but Royal Order was given the first option to buy any potions she made. In addition, Serenity and Lizzie agreed that Lizzie would only sell any new potions she developed here to the general public with Royal Order's permission and after giving them a set percentage of the profit. Lizzie decided to close her shop in E-Rantel and move to Silver Castle with her grandson. They brought along with them another family they had close relations with. Serenity agreed to let the other family use another guest room.

Merlin was slightly worried about what he learned from his talk with Miranda. Apparently, she thought there was a spirit haunting the castle that she couldn't exorcise. However, he had seen no evidence of this alleged spirit, so he believed that if it existed, it was gone now. Additionally, there had been many attempts to investigate Silver Castle with magic, all of which were blocked by the anti-scrying barrier.

Currently, the shop only sold the food grown on the grounds of Silver Castle, several consumable items produced by the servants, and Lizzie's potions. There was also a small restaurant in a section of the building. On certain days and times, the head chef or sous chef of Silver Castle would open the restaurant and sell their food to the public. Apparently, the food served there was highly desired by the people of this world because the restaurant was very popular. Eventually, Serenity wanted to stock many other items, such as tools, supplies, weapons, armor, and magic items, but that would take some time.

Serenity claimed that she wanted to increase the strength of Royal Order by learning about this new world and developing friendly ties with other nations and organizations. Also, she wanted to create a town their absent lords could be proud of, so if they ever returned they could see how well their servants had done. If they didn't return, then at least the town would serve as a monument to their greatness.

Merlin knew that the town would grow and prosper. Word would spread among the traders and merchants of a new town with excellent goods and powerful guards. People would refer to this new town as Silver Town.

XXX

The courier sighed at the sight of human activity. He had left Arwintar disguised as a merchant a week ago. Although he had hired adventurers to guard his caravan, the presence of danger when traveling was always present. There were only nine of them on the journey: the courier, three assistants, and five adventurers. This was a small party so they would be somewhat vulnerable to attacks. They stopped in several towns and cities during their journey and tried to stay in a settlement at night, but they ended up having to camp outside two nights during this trip.

The courier had to disguise himself because of the poor relations between the Baharuth Empire and the Re-Estize Kingdom. If the Kingdom knew that a messenger of the Empire was here, they would probably arrest him. Travel was slow as he had to keep up his disguise of a merchant, so they couldn't go at high speeds.

As he approached the town, the courier was surprised to see armed golems on patrol. He knew golems were quite expensive and only a large organization like the Empire could build many of them. The golems allowed them to pass and the courier continued to the large building. The courier ordered the adventurers to watch his wagon as he went into the large building that served as a shop. He greeted the cashier, who introduced herself as Enri, and asked if it would be possible to arrange a meeting with the mistress of the castle. Before Enri could answer, a man with a bowl-cut hairstyle approached him and asked him why he wanted to meet Serenity. Assuming Serenity was the name of the mistress of the castle, the courier told the man that he had a message to deliver to her. The man nodded and said to follow him.

The courier followed Moe as he led the way to Silver Castle, slightly surprised at how easy that was.

XXX

Serenity dismissed the courier after hearing his message. She ordered that he and his companions be allowed to stay in the guest rooms in the shop for the night free of charge.

The courier had delivered a message from the Baharuth Empire requesting a representative meet with the Emperor to establish diplomatic ties. Although this had been expected, she was still unsure how to respond. Serenity decided to consult the other two people in the room.

"Well, what do you two think about this?"

"Well I think there are pros and cons to this. If we go, we can establish relations with the Empire and possibly develop a friendship with them. We will have more options. On the other hand, we may also get caught up in their internal politics. Additionally, it seems that the Kingdom and Empire have poor relations. The Kingdom will not appreciate us associating ourselves with the Empire and there may come a day when we will have to choose between them. However, if we don't accept this invitation, we will be effectively tying ourselves to the Kingdom. We will lose the opportunity to gain a potential ally. Overall, I believe that we should accept this invitation and send a delegation to meet with the Emperor."

"I see your point, Miranda. What is your opinion, Black Belt?"

"I agree, I think we should accept the invitation. We need to meet with the nations in this area and negotiate with them. Our presence here will affect them whether we like it or not. It would be best if we worked with them."

"Yes, I agree with your points. While there are risks, they cannot be avoided. I guess Merlin's group will be going on another mission"

With that, Serenity summoned Merlin and the others to the castle and explained what had happened. Once again, she ordered them to take certain items with them. After they left, Serenity ordered Black Belt to inform the courier of their decision and arrange for supplies for the journey."

XXX

The following morning, 14 people set out form Silver Town. Once again, Merlin and his group were using the horses from Silver Castle. Merlin and his group prepared themselves for the mission ahead, wondering what the future would bring.

XXX

 **And we begin a new arc.**

 **Yes, I did 'borrow' the idea for the town from other anime. I thought it would be a nice addition to this fic.**


	18. Chapter 18

A group of 14 people arrived at the entrance to the Imperial capital of Arwintar as the sun was high in the sky. The gate guards stationed at the entrance to the city stopped them, but one of them gave their leader a sealed envelope. After the guard opened and read the contents of the envelope, they were allowed into the city without incident.

Upon entering the city, the hired adventurers returned to the adventurer's guild after receiving payment from the courier. The courier informed the emissaries from Royal Order that they had arrived earlier than expected and asked them to wait in the city while an audience was arranged with the Emperor. The courier arranged for them to stay at a high-class inn in the capital. While it was far from the best inn in the city, it was still very impressive and expensive for the people in this world.

During the journey here, Merlin and the others learned that although the Kingdom and Empire used different currency, the exchange rate was the same, so they could use the money that they had brought with them. Merlin gave everyone permission to explore the city and gave everyone an ample amount of spending money.

XXX

Larry walked down the paved streets of Arwintar. He had no particular destination in mind. Eventually, he found himself in a high-class residential district. The area was filled with large, luxurious mansions that looked so expensive it was likely only rich people could afford to live here. However, Larry noticed that these high-class mansions were poorly maintained. The gardens were untended and no one seemed to be around. Still, it was peaceful. Unlike the cities he had been to so far, this one seemed to be quite tranquil.

"GET OUT OF MY SIGHT YOU INGRATE!"

... Well, so much for that.

As Larry turned his head toward the noise, he saw a young girl with blonde hair run out of one of the houses. His curiosity piqued, Larry decided to approach the girl. She looked like she was in her late teens with delicate features and shoulder length hair. For some reason, Larry thought she looked like a doll. She stopped at an intersection in the street and Larry called out to her.

"Excuse me"

The girl turned around and looked at Larry. It was obvious she had been crying.

"What is it, sir?"

"Is there a problem?"

The girl looked at Larry with suspicion. Sensing this, Larry quoted one of his former masters.

"It is common sense that one must help those they can."

"I'm sorry, but I don't think you can help me."

"Would you like to tell me about your problems?"

"Not really, I have things to do and I can't waste time."

"What if I hired you as a guide? I am new in this city and would like to know more about it. It shouldn't take longer than the rest of the day."

Larry held out a silver coin. The girl hesitated for a moment but took the coin and started walking.

"Very well, I guess I can show you around."

"Thank you young lady. By the way, what is your name? I'm Larry, by the way."

The girl turned to face Larry before speaking.

"You can call me Arche."

XXX

Curly walked up to a large building guarded by soldiers in leather armor. He had asked around and apparently, this building was the best hotel in the city. As he approached, one of the guards addressed him.

"Excuse me, sir, but do you have business here?"

"Yes, I was told that this was the best hotel in the capital. Is this true?"

"Indeed. No other hotel comes close."

"Is that so, I was hoping to see what it is like. While I already have a room right now, should I come to this city again, I might wish to stay here."

The guard slightly tensed up before answering.

"I'm sorry sir, but in order to maintain the reputation of this hotel, we only accept regular members or those with referrals. We cannot let just anyone from the streets to enter."

Curly was slightly surprised at this but quickly recovered.

"I see, are there no exceptions?"

"There are a few, such as adamantite-rank adventurers, but I'm afraid none of those exceptions apply in your case."

"I see, sorry to have troubled you then."

With that, Curly turned around and walked away. While he was disappointed at not being able to see what the hotel was like, it wasn't that important.

XXX

Merlin walked through the north market of the Empire's capital. The markets here were much bigger and had more variety than the markets in the Kingdom. Right now, he was busy looking for magic items. Merlin had already been to the central market, but despite having a wider range of products, they did not have that many magical items.

"Hmm, should I pick up a few of these?"

Merlin had been looking at a display of Wands of Cure Light Wounds. While they weren't very valuable to him, Merlin wanted to compare them to the similar wands in Silver Caste's treasury to see if there were any differences. Additionally, Serenity had told them to try to use the items found in this world if possible.

Deciding to pass for now and come back later, Merlin inspected the next stall.

"Excuse me, but what are you selling here?"

"Ah, we offer some magical household items. Are you looking for something in particular?"

"No, I'm just browsing."

"Well, today I have several items for sale. We have magical fans here, magical watches here, magical cooling containers here, and several other items in this area. Do you see anything you like? I can offer a discount on the fans."

"Well, some of things are interesting, but right now I'm just looking. I want to see as many items here as I can before making my decision on what to buy. If I do decide to purchase an item here, I'll be back later."

"I see, well then, please don't forget."

With that, Merlin continued to the next stall.

XXX

Moe sat down at the counter and looked at the menu in front of him. While walking through the city, he had stumbled upon an inn called 'The Singing Apple Pavilion'. The smell of the food cooking there enticed Moe so he decided to stop and have a meal.

As he was deciding what to get, a man with blonde hair and a certain charm about him sat down on the stool next to him. Two expensive shortswords hung from his waist and it was clear that he had other weapons stored on him.

"Good afternoon to you sir"

The man spoke to Moe with a polite tone. Not entirely sure what he wanted, Moe replied politely as well.

"Good afternoon to you too."

"So, how may I be of service to you?"

"Pardon?"

Moe was curious what the man meant. As far as he was aware, he had made no indication that he was looking for something.

"I said how may I be of service to you?"

"Do you work at this restaurant?"

"Oh, no. I am the leader of a worker team called Foresight. We're the best worker team in this town. My name is Hekkeran Termite. I was asking if you had a job for us."

Moe had already learned about workers in this world. He knew what they did, but he didn't expect one to approach him looking for work.

"Excuse me, but have I made any indication I was looking to hire workers?"

Hekkeran looked slightly confused. After a few seconds, he spoke again.

"Well, you did come here, didn't you? I thought that you wanted to hire some workers."

"Is there a reason coming here means that I wanted to hire workers?"

"Well, this is where one looks for workers, almost everyone who comes here is looking to hire workers or a worker themselves."

"Ah, I'm sorry, I didn't know that. I just smelled the food while walking by and thought that this would be a good place to eat."

Hearing this, Hekkeran's previously confused face relaxed.

"Is that so, I guess that's understandable. After all, one of the reasons the workers chose this inn as their headquarters in the first place was the good food. I apologize for the confusion."

Hekkeran began to stand up, but Moe motioned for him to sit.

"Hang on, while you're here, why don't you tell me about this city. I'm new in town, so I'd like to hear from a local where all of the best places are. I'd like to hear stories of your adventures too if you don't mind. I'll pay for a meal if you talk to me."

Hekkeran smiled at Moe's offer.

"It won't be cheap you know. I'm a big eater."

"I'll treat you to anything under two silver then. Is that acceptable?"

"Very well. In that case, let's order first, and then I can tell you about the city."

Moe and Hekkeran called over a waitress and gave them their lunch orders. After that, they began their conversation. Moe looked forward to learning about Arwintar from his new acquaintance.

XXX

 **This chapter may seem like filler, but I wrote it, so I decided to post it.**


	19. Chapter 19

Serenity sat on the throne deep in Silver Castle and sighed. It had been a long day for her.

The day had started out like any other, but late in the morning, one of the nobles from the Re-Estize Kingdom arrived unannounced. He introduced himself as Gillian Rale Michard and claimed to rule over the land west of Silver Castle. Serenity did not know if this was true, as she hadn't learned who ruled the land around them, but she nevertheless invited him into Silver Castle.

The first sign things would go wrong was during introductions. Black Belt introduced himself as 'the toughest meatshield in Silver Castle'. Serenity nearly facepalmed when that happened. Even if the lords intended him to introduce himself that way, there was only one chance to make a first impression.

Things went downhill from there.

Upon seeing the quality of Silver Castle, Gillian insisted that they give ownership of it to him. He claimed that it was his right as a noble. Serenity informed Gillian that the Kingdom and Royal Order had a treaty, but he refused to listen and even insisted that they pay him taxes for living there. Eventually, Serenity's patience ran out and she ordered him to leave. When he refused, she ordered Black Belt to remove him from the castle. Thus, the toughest meatshield in Silver Castle ended up carrying a screaming noble off the grounds and threw him onto the land he claimed to rule.

Serenity knew she would have to send a message to the Kingdom explaining this incident. She didn't know whether to complain or apologize. Before that, she needed to calm her mind.

She sat at the throne for several minutes before moving. Standing up from the throne, Serenity headed to the now soundproof library.

XXX

"Ladies and Gentlemen, please welcome today's brave challengers, Wolf Pack!"

As the announcer spoke, the crowd cheered.

Five armed warriors entered the arena and formed a semicircle around a lone man. As she was watching this spectacle, Sachiko clicked her tongue in disgust.

Sachiko had originally intended to visit the temples here to see if they were any different from the Kingdom, but on her way to the Temple of the Four Great Gods, she learned about the Grand Arena. Interested to see what people did here for entertainment, Sachiko decided to visit it.

Sachiko wasn't sure what she was expecting to see, but it certainly wasn't this. Already, several people had died in the fights in the arena. From Sachiko's point of view, this was repulsive and wasteful. She didn't enjoy watching people fight each other and even if she understood that there were people who did, she didn't see why so many people had to die here. Already, there were several instances of a fighter killing a clearly defeated opponent. It seemed to be a waste of good lives from her point of view.

"And it looks like the match has been decided. Eruya Uzruth has defeated Wolf Pack!"

Sachiko watched as the man in the center of the arena took a bow after slaughtering his opponents. Having seen enough, she decided to leave the arena and go to her original destination.

XXX

Merlin approached the grounds of the Magic Ministry and headed toward the nearest building. While most of the buildings in this area were guarded and the general public was forbidden to enter, the building Merlin was headed to was open to everyone. As he approached the building, he was impressed by the security behind it. Thick high walls with several watchtowers surrounded the area and there were patrols consisting of knights and magic casters. Even the sky was guarded, with solders mounted on flying beasts and magic casters using flight magic.

Despite it being the only building open to the public, the building he went to was not very crowded. Usually, the people who came here were trying to apply to join the Magic Ministry, but there weren't many of them as most mages joined as the result of a recommendation, with few successful applications from the general public.

Merlin approached the bored receptionist and addressed her.

"Excuse me, is this the magic ministry?"

The receptionist looked up and replied to Merlin.

"Ah, yes sir, are you interested in applying?"

"No, actually, I'm here for a consultation. You see, the place where I live seems to have attracted some sort of spirit. It seems to have left, but just to be safe, I was wondering if there was any information available regarding exorcising spirits here."

"Ah, I'm sorry, but we don't have much information on spirits. Even if we did, it would be restricted to the members of the Magic Ministry and high-ranking officials in the Empire."

"I see, that is unfortunate. Then, let's move onto the next topic. I heard that there is a large library that contains vast knowledge regarding magic here. Is that true?"

"Yes, there is such a thing here. However, just like most resources here, the library is restricted to the members of the Magic Ministry. We can't let outsiders use it."

"Is that so? What if I were to get permission from a high-ranking member of the Magic Ministry then?"

"I'm sorry, but the only ones who could give that type of permission would be the minister of magic or master Fluder Paradyne himself and they won't even meet with someone off the street."

"I see, well, thank you for your time."

With that, Merlin left the building and headed back to the city."

XXX

"I see, that is quite troublesome."

"I know, even though we're deep in debt they refuse to stop spending! They won't accept reality, they truly are fools."

"Hah, some people just can't let go of the past."

"Even so, they need to move forward. My family can't survive like this."

Larry and Arche continued their conversation as they walked through the city. At first, Arche had been hesitant to talk, but after a while, she started complaining about her family. Larry learned that she became a worker to pay off her family's debts, but even though she was one of the most successful workers in the city, she was still unable to clear her family's debt. Her parents refused to stop spending like before, when they were nobles, and relied on her to pay the bills.

"Well, there's nothing you can do for some people. You can't control others actions, just your own."

"That's true, but their actions are still affecting me. I have to pay for their spending and can't upgrade my gear. I'm putting my friends in risk by not having the best gear I can. In that sense, my parent's actions are affecting them as well."

"Well, what are you going to do about it?"

Arche stared at Larry. She wasn't expecting this question.

"What do you mean? What can I do about it?"

"Well, this obviously can't continue. Eventually, you'll reach a breaking point and something will happen. Wouldn't it be better to take action now before that happens?"

"I still don't see what I can do."

"Yes you do. You know what you should do. People always have options but sometimes we just don't want to do what we should."

Arche became silent at this and they walked ahead without talking. Eventually, Larry decided to speak.

"Well, it's getting late, so I'd better head back soon. I appreciate the conversation. As thanks, why don't I treat you to dinner here?"

Larry motioned to an inn they were passing by. At this, Arche finally responded.

"Ah, but I haven't given you a tour of the city! I was so busy talking about my problems that I forgot about it!"

"It's fine, like I said, I enjoyed the conversation. Besides, I just wanted to talk to you in the first place. I'll treat you to anything under two silver."

Hearing this, Arche smiled and entered the inn with Larry.

XXX

All five members of Royal Order returned to their room late that night. As they didn't need to sleep, they swapped stories about what happened to them in the city. After having a short meeting, Larry and Sachiko decided to take a quick walk to see what the city was like at night, while Moe went out for a quick snack. Merlin and Curly decided to stay in the hotel room and take a quick nap to relax their minds. After a while, the three of them returned to the room, claiming there wasn't much difference between day and night in the city other than an increased number of guards.

Eventually, morning came and a messenger of the Emperor arrived. He informed them that the Emperor would see them later in the morning. The representatives from Royal Order discussed what they should do over breakfast. Eventually, it was decided that just like in the Kingdom, Merlin would meet the Emperor alone. They didn't want to pressure the Emperor by having all five of them there.

A short while later, the messenger escorted Merlin to the Imperial Palace, where the Emperor was prepared to greet him.

XXX

 **Yes, I did get the idea of the noble from what I heard about the original WN. I liked it, so I decided to put it in here.**


	20. Chapter 20

Miranda walked by a large group of dirt golems tending crops on the fields surrounding Silver Town. These golems were not POP monsters created by Silver Castle, but some of Serenity's summoned monsters. While these dirt golems were much weaker than the POP golems, they did have their uses.

In YDDGRASIL, summoned creatures would disappear after a set period. There were a few exceptions, but these golems were not one of them. By all accounts, these golems should have disappeared a long time ago. However, they were still here.

Serenity had many summoning spells that she could use to summon creatures. One of these spells created golems. A few days ago, Serenity used this skill while on a walk around the grounds of Silver Castle and unintentionally created a golem using a rock as a medium. After experimenting a few times, she discovered that she could create golems using different types of materials and they would exist indefinitely, unlike those created without a medium.

This discovery greatly affected their plans.

With this spell, Serenity could create many servants to work as guards or laborers. With enough golems that did not tire or need nourishment, their productivity would greatly increase. In addition, there was the possibility of renting these golems to other countries, but that idea needed more thought.

They discovered that the material used as a medium affected the golem's quality. Golems made from dirt were very weak and only suited for simple labor, although they could handle some delicate, precise tasks. Golems made from rock were sturdier, but not strong enough for combat against trained foes. Golems made from iron were quite versatile, being strong laborers and decent fighters.

As one created golems with higher quality materials, the created golem got stronger. Serenity tried making one from an ore from YDDGRASIL that, while not rare for YDDGRASIL, was far stronger than any metal found in this world so far. The resulting golem was significantly stronger than the warrior-golems summoned from the library.

More important were the implications of this discovery.

Serenity realized that this effect might not be limited to golems alone. To test this, she used a scroll from the treasury to create an undead minion from an animal corpse. Serenity needed to use a scroll because she did not have a skill to summon undead. As expected, the resulting undead did not disappear after a set time. Serenity also tried summoning a fire elemental from a bonfire, but the resulting elemental disappeared after a while. Additionally, no one in Royal Order knew what medium was needed for the other creatures that Serenity could summon, such as beasts, faeries, and angels.

What other spells and abilities worked differently in this new world? How could they exploit these new opportunities and compensate for their new vulnerabilities? This question required some research.

For now, Serenity decided to focus on making golems, as they were the only summon she could make on her own without items and could be summoned from an abundant medium that could be found in this world.

The field Miranda was inspecting was an experiment to test how useful and durable these golems could be. There were fields with golems made from dirt, wood, rock, and iron, as well as fields with a mixed composition of golems. The next stage of the experiment would be to see how these golems functioned under adverse conditions, such as rain, snow, wind, or heat. How they proceeded depended on the results of this experiment.

Miranda made a few notes on the paper she was carrying before moving on to another field.

XXX

Merlin entered the throne room in the Imperial Palace. It was quite extravagant. In Merlin's opinion, it was superior to the one in the Re-Estize Kingdom.

Merlin had placed his staff in a magic backpack under his robes to avoid looking threatening. Of course, he could still use magic without it and if necessary, he could take it out at a moment's notice, but he wanted to appear harmless.

There were a dozen people in the room. The emperor sat on the throne with an old man at his side. There appeared to be two scribes and eight guards standing by the walls.

"Hm, I can't see it?"

As Merlin entered the throne room, the man standing next to the emperor spoke to himself.

Fluder's eyes should have been able to see the aura surrounding Merlin. He had a natural talent to determine the tier of magic one was capable of using by observing this aura. However, he did not sense anything around Merlin. The only two reasons for not being able to see the aura that Fluder could think of was either that Merlin was using an anti-detection countermeasure or that he was not an arcane magic caster. Given the way Merlin dressed, Fluder believed that he was indeed an arcane magic caster. In that case, he must've taken countermeasures against Fluder's talent. It was well known throughout the Empire and surrounding countries, after all.

"What is it, gramps?"

"Ah, it's nothing. Sorry to bother you."

Brushing off Fluder's strange behavior, Jircniv began the meeting with Merlin.

The terms they agreed to were similar to the treaty with the Re-Estize Kingdom. The same borders were recognized and the promise not to march armies close to the border was included. Since Silver Castle was located within the Kingdom's borders, they couldn't agree to an official trade treaty, but they did agree to allow private merchants from the Empire to buy and sell their goods at Silver Town. Merlin also promised to try to arrange a regular trading caravan to the Empire. The non-aggression pact was also accepted, with an agreement that Royal Order would not participate in the annual war between the Kingdom and the Empire. Originally, Jircniv tried to convince Royal Order to ally with the Empire, but eventually, he settled for this.

After about 25 minutes of discussion, both parties accepted the terms.

"Well then, Emperor-dono, I believe these terms are acceptable to Royal Order. Now then, I have a gift for you and your country as a sign of goodwill."

Jirnciv and Fluder hid their excitement well, as they were expecting this.

Merlin produced three short sticks from under his robes. They were about thirty centimeters in length, made out of ivory and coated in bronze with runes inscribed along their length.

Jirnciv was slightly confused at this. The wands Merlin held were slightly different then the description he read about from the information he received from his informant in Re-Estize.

"These are wands of raise dead. Each of them contains ten charges of the 5th tier divine spell 'raise dead'".

Everyone else in the room was surprised to hear this, including Jirnciv and Fluder.

"I am not sure if you are aware of this, but Royal Order presented a similar gift to the Re-Estize Kingdom during our official negotiations with them. We presented them with a wand of revival, which contained ten charges of the 7th tier divine spell 'revive'. However, after hearing that the Empire has no individual capable of casting revival magic, Lady Serenity and I decided you would prefer quantity over quality."

With that, Merlin handed the wands over to a scribe who approached him.

"If you wish, I can request Lady Serenity exchange these three wands of raise dead for one wand of revival."

Jircniv and Fluder had differing opinions on this. Jircniv agreed with Merlin that the three wands of raise dead would be more valuable to him than one wand of revival. After all, they would be able to have more uses of the spell and from what he had heard, the 'raise dead' and 'revive' spells were basically the same, the only difference being the amount of life force taken from the target. Fluder, on the other hand, truly wished to see 7th tier magic and preferred the one wand of revive.

However, right now Jircniv was in charge.

"That will not be necessary, Merlin-dono, we are quite happy with this gift."

"Before I go, I would like to ask for an audience with famous archmage, Fluder Paradyne."

Hearing this, both Fluder and Jircniv were confused. They had not anticipated a request.

"Yes, how may I help you?"

"Ah, this doesn't concern matters of state. It is purely a question regarding magical knowledge. Perhaps we should talk in a private setting."

At this, Fluder's eyes lit up. Seeing where this was going, Jircniv quickly made his move.

"Gramps, I don't have all day to listen to your explanations. You can use one of the spare rooms in the palace."

"Very well, your majesty."

With that, Fluder and Merlin left the room.

XXX

After arriving in a luxurious room, Merlin asked Fluder his question.

"Paradyne-dono, I was wondering if you have any knowledge of spirits that haunt buildings. Perhaps there is a book in your archives covering it."

"Spirits? Well, I don't think I've done much research into them. They are extremely rare, so I doubt there would be any information on it. Why do you ask?"

"Well, it seems that there was an incident at Silver Castle involving a spirit. Although it seems to have been resolved, I'd like more knowledge in case another one appears."

"I see, I apologize, but I don't think I can help you there. While we're having this discussion, may I ask you a question?"

"What is it?"

"How powerful of a mage are you? I usually can tell how powerful one's magic is just by looking at them, but for some reason, I can't tell with you. Are you using an anti-detection spell or something because of my ability?"

"Ah, I'm sorry, but I can't answer that question. I am indeed using anti-detection countermeasures, but it isn't for you specifically. It is common sense to hide your true abilities from strangers, barring certain circumstances."

"I see, I apologize for my rude question."

"Think nothing of it. Now then, since my business is done here, I shall bid you farewell."

With that, Merlin left the Imperial Palace.

XXX

Fluder pondered for a few minutes about his conversation with Merlin. After collecting his thoughts, he returned to the throne room.

"Well, Gramps, how did it go?"

Jircniv addressed Fluder while looking at several pieces of paper before him.

"He was quite cautions, I couldn't get any information from him."

"Do you think he realizes what we're trying to do?"

"No, I think he's just naturally cautious."

"I see, while we didn't get everything we wanted, I believe this is an acceptable outcome for now."

Fluder looked down, slightly depressed.

"I truly wanted to see 7th tier magic."

"I understand how you feel, but right now the three lesser wands are more valuable to the Empire. If you desire 7th tier magic so much, develop it yourself."

"That's easier said than done, your majesty."

"Well, hopefully we'll have another chance to obtain it. Who knows, they may have even more impressive items."

"Perhaps"

With that, Fluder seemed to cheer up a bit.

"All we can do for now is wait and see."


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N**

 **For personal reasons, I will not be posting new chapters for about a week or two. I just want you let you know so you know that I haven't just disappeared.**

 **... Yet**

XXX

Lizzie Bareare hummed a catchy tune as she observed the potion she was manufacturing. She was currently in an excellent mood.

As Lizzie had completed making the potions that were requested of her today, she was allowed to use the facilities in Silver Castle to experiment with making new potions. While she hadn't had any success creating the legendary 'god's blood' potion, she was making progress in her research of other potions.

Suddenly, she heard the door open behind her.

"Granny, I'm back"

"Ah, welcome back, Nfirea, how did it go?"

"Excellent as usual, I found lots of rare herbs and a few new ones that look promising."

"That's good, put them into the storehouse for now, I'll check on them later."

As Nfirea left, Lizzie turned back to her experiment."

When she first arrived here, Lizzie was surprised to see all of the different types of tools in the laboratory. Thankfully, the resident apothecary, although he insisted he was called an alchemist, was able to explain how all of them worked and what they were for. The instruments were quite useful to Lizzie once she learned how to use them.

For some reason, the mistress of the castle refused to let Lizzie use the ingredients they supposedly had in storage, and instead told her to use the herbs that grew on the castle grounds. While there were a great variety of them, Lizzie was unfamiliar with most of them and she preferred to use wild herbs. Therefore, Lizzie requested that someone escort Nfirea to the Great Forest of Tob to gather ingredients. Serenity accepted this request and ordered Black Belt to do so. She lent him several golem warriors to assist him.

From what Lizzie heard, on their first expedition into the forest, they encountered the legendary Wise King of the Forest. Black Belt ended up fighting and defeating it, and the beast begged him to spare its life, offering its loyalty. Black Belt agreed to spare the beast if it helped Nfirea gather herbs, so the expedition was very successful. The beast offered to follow Black Belt wherever he went, but Black Belt told it to stay in the forest and guard its territory, He also ordered it to spare any humans that did not attack it. Ever since then, whenever Nfirea went to gather herbs from the forest, they were able to safely explore a large area and find many herbs. Lately, Serenity even agreed to loan them golems to help transport the herbs, allowing them to gather more each trip. She also arranged to have a storehouse built for them to store all of their materials.

For some time now, Lizzie had been experimenting with several new ingredients, both harvested by Nfirea and grown at the castle, to make new potions. She already had some success, such as an elixir that cured most poisons and a herb potion that worked much faster than the usual herb potion. However, she knew that there was still much more that she could discover.

Lizzie was truly glad she was able to stay at Silver Castle. Not only did she have access to much more materials and better equipment, but also the lodgings and food were excellent.

Lizzie looked at the thick, yellow potion that she had created. She would have to conduct an experiment with the test animals to see how it worked. Once that was finished, she planned to inspect the herbs Nfirea gathered.

XXX

Merlin and his group stayed in Arwintar for three more days before leaving for Silver Castle. During that time, they were left to their own devices as they explored the city. Before leaving, Merlin went to the north market to buy some items while Larry went to say goodbye to a new acquaintance. Once they were ready, Merlin transported them back to Silver Castle with Greater Teleportation.

Upon arriving, Merlin went to deliver his report to Serenity while the others relaxed. He reported that the scrying spells from Arwintar were likely cast by Fluder Paradyne or his students. Now that they had a treaty, they were likely to stop.

Serenity informed Merlin of the recent events at Silver Castle. He was particularly surprised to learn about the golems. After they finished exchanging information, Merlin went to his room to take a well-earned nap.

XXX

Curly walked through the newly paved streets of Silver Town. It had been three days since he returned from Arwintar. Beside him, he saw stone golems and dirt golems working together to build houses. The stone golems did the heavy lifting while the dirt golems handled precise tasks. The plan was to rent these houses out to visitors and convert the second floor of the shop into more store area. The wood used for the construction was harvested from the Great Forest of Tob and the stone taken from a nearby quarry. Serenity had obtained rights to gather these resources during a negotiation with officials from the Re-Estize Kingdom.

The town was developing quite quickly. In addition, they were expecting new residents. A message from E-Rantel, carried by a trader, was sent to Silver Castle. The former villagers from Carne Village had heard about the development of Silver Town and many wished to move here. They were having a hard time earning a living in E-Rantel and wished for a better life. Black Belt was sent to escort them back here. He had been assigned many golems for this mission. Serenity intended to have the villagers work as supervisors for the golems working in the field. If all went as predicted, they would arrive before nightfall and could start learning their jobs the next day.

While there was currently plenty of land to cultivate, as more golems were created, Royal Order would need more land for farming. Serenity planned to negotiate with nearby land holders to rent suitable land in exchange for a portion of the harvest.

As an unexpected bonus, the taming of the Wise King of the Forest meant Royal Order now effectively controlled its territory. No one from the Re-Estize Kingdom claimed ownership of the forest, so they would not contest Royal Order's claim. The forest was a treasure trove of herbs, plants, and other resources, but it seemed other creatures that lay claim their own section of the forest as well. For now, Royal Order only gathered resources from the Wise King's territory, which covered the southern quarter of the forest. At the moment, this was more than sufficient for their needs.

From what Curly had heard from Miranda, Royal Order had performed several experiments with golems while the five adventurers were away. Based on the results of these experiments, Serenity decided to focus on creating stone and wood golems. She would have preferred to create more iron golems, but there wasn't enough available iron to do so.

Curly eventually reached the edge of the construction zone. Unexpectedly, he suddenly felt like eating something. Although his ring he wore removed his need for food, he would sometimes feel the desire to eat. As he started to head back, he hoped that the restaurant in the store would be open today.

XXX

Serenity looked at the newly formed wood golems in front of her. She had exhausted almost all of her mana creating them all morning. She would need to recover before she could make more. With a simple command, the golems started marching toward their assigned field. Now, Serenity could focus on her next task. Right now, she had to make a decision.

Serenity intended to send emissaries to the other countries in this world. She had initially considered splitting Merlin's party in order to do so faster, but after some consideration decided to keep them together. At the moment, she was thinking of sending them to either the Slaine Theocracy, the Dwarven Kingdom in the Azellisa Mountain Range, a group of demihuman tribes in the north, or a group of Lizardmen Villages she had found in a nearby lake, north of the Great Forest of Tob. The Agrand Council Alliance, Roble Holy Kingdom, Dragonic Kingdom, and other areas were set at a lower priority as they were farther away. The question was which of these four places she should contact first. What benefits would each area likely have and what risks would likely be present?

Deep in thought, Serenity gazed at the golems working on the castle grounds. After a few minutes watching them, she made her decision.

XXX

Two days later, the five adventurers left Silver Castle to begin another journey.

XXX

 **Yes, ending there is evil. All I can say is:**

 **BWAHAHAHAHA**

 **Enjoy the wait**


	22. Chapter 22

**A/N**

 **Guess who's back...**

XXX

Merlin looked around at the scenic view before him. The rays of morning sunlight shone over the mountaintop, making it seem like a divine being was beckoning them to ascend into the sky.

It had been six days since they left Silver Castle. Merlin had teleported the entire group to Arwintar where he met with Fluder to gather information on the Dwarven Kingdom. Fluder was surprisingly friendly with the group and offered the information freely. That said, there wasn't much information available. While the Baharuth Empire did have good relations with the Dwarven Kingdom, they did not keep in constant contact. After obtaining all of the information that they could, Merlin and his group left Arwintar on horseback and headed to the Azellisa Mountain Range. They knew the general location of the Dwarven Kingdom, but their information was not very precise and they would have to search for it.

Merlin continued to stare at the beautiful scene for a few moments before commanding his horse to move on. While they moved slowly in the mountains, the group was able to continue all day and night. The adventurer's rings of sustenance and the horse's magic items negated the need for food, water, and rest. Even so, Merlin predicted that they still had a long journey ahead of them.

XXX

"Onee-sama, are we there yet?"

"Almost, Kuude, we should be there soon."

"But that's what you said earlier. Aren't we there yet?"

"Kuude, that was only ten minutes ago. We won't get there that fast."

Arche gently scolded her sister. She understood that they were restless, as they had been traveling for three days straight, but they had to learn patience.

"But I want to get there now."

"Now, now, little lady, don't make this hard for your big sister. Besides, journeys like this are fun."

Arche smiled as Hekkeran comforted her sister.

Five days ago, her father threw another tantrum and Arche decided she finally had enough. She knew she had to leave the city, but didn't know where to go. After thinking about it for a while, she remembered what her new acquaintance said and decided to visit him in the Kingdom. Hopefully, he would be able to help her, but if not she could always move to a city in the Kingdom. Arche took her little sisters with her and planned to leave Arwintar. She had offered to take James, the Furt family butler with her, but he said that he wished to say in Arwintar.

Unexpectedly, when Arche told the other members of Foresight that she was going to leave, they insisted that they escort her to her destination. They claimed that they wanted to go on one last mission together, even if just for a memory. Even though they said this, Arche knew that they were worried about her. She truly had good comrades.

They had bought a wagon and a few horses for their journey. Hekkeran covered the expenses out of his own pocket. Arche offered to repay him later, but he claimed that that wasn't necessary, as he needed the cart for something else. Arche knew this was a lie, but didn't push it.

"Hopefully we'll arrive before it gets dark."

"Yeah, I don't want to spend a night out here in the middle of nowhere."

"Well, according to what my friend said, we should be able to see it soon."

"Let's just hope he's right"

With that, Arche's group continued their journey to Silver Castle.

XXX

Eight days after leaving the borders of the Baharuth Empire, Merlin's group finally encountered civilization. Early in the morning, they spotted a fortress built up against the side of the mountain. Merlin's group approached it at a slow trot, so as not to alarm the dwarves there. When they were about 30 meters away, a voice called out to them.

"Halt, who goes there?"

"I am Merlin, an emissary from Royal Order. We wish to discuss creating diplomatic ties with your nation."

"Royal Order? I've never heard that name before."

"We are quite new around here. Perhaps we could discuss this in a more comfortable setting?"

Merlin heard a few indiscernible mumbles coming from the fortress. After about a minute, they responded.

"Alright, you can come."

With that, Merlin's group approached the fortress. Once they were inside, a dwarf approached them.

"We've informed the council of your arrival. They will probably meet with you sometime tomorrow. Our commander says you can visit Feoh Ger while you wait, but don't cause any trouble."

Assuming Feoh Ger was the name of the city, Merlin accepted the dwarf's offer and entered the city with his companions.

XXX

Moe walked down the streets of Feoh Ger. The size of the buildings and walkways in the city was much smaller than a comparative human city, but perhaps that was to be expected. After some time, Moe found himself in front of an inn. Taking out his glasses, he read the sign above it.

"White Beer Pavilion, huh? Might as well give it a try."

With that, Moe entered the building and treated himself to a late lunch. The food wasn't very good, but the alcohol was decent. As he left the building, he saw a group of five dwarves approach him.

"Gondo, you really should have a cold one with us. We've made it through the five day shift and it's time to celebrate."

"Thank you for the offer Gendez, but I need to save my money for a project of mine."

"Bah, what kind of a dwarf are you, foregoing even alcohol, you should..., huh?"

The dwarves finally noticed Moe in front of them.

"Well, what do we have here? It's rare to see a human here. Are you from the Empire perhaps?"

"No, I am from a different country."

Moe denied the dwarf's assumption.

"Ah, anyway, welcome to Feoh Ger. I'd offer to show you around the city, but right now, the beer calls. Come on, lads!"

With that, four of the dwarves entered the White Beer Pavilion. Moe stared at the last remaining dwarf.

"Aren't you going to join your friends?"

"Nah, I need to save my money."

"In that case, would you mind showing me around the city?"

"Sorry, but while I would like to show you proper hospitality, I have other things to do."

"What if I hired you as a guide?"

Moe offered a silver piece to Gondo. At this, Gondo's face seemed to brighten up. Taking the offered coin, he started walking.

"Well, I suppose I could spare some time to show a visitor around."

"Thank you, kind dwarf. If it doesn't bother you, would you mind telling me why you are in need of money right now?"

"It's fine, it's not like it's a secret anyway. Let's talk while we walk."

With that, the two of them started their exploration of the city.

XXX

Sachiko looked at the young dwarf walk away. That was the ninth dwarf that she had healed on her brief walk. Unlike the human cities, it seemed that there were no temples here, or if there were, they did not charge for healing but were not very numerous. While she disliked the fact that the temples charged the poor, Sachiko did understand that they offered a valuable service. If there truly were no temples in the city, the population would be vulnerable.

As she continued her walk, Sachiko noticed a dwarf sitting on the side of the road. His skin was pale and his breathing sounded strange. He was obviously sick. Sighing, Sachiko went to help him.

XXX

Curly approached a huge workshop, one much larger than he had ever seen. It was one of the biggest buildings in the city. There was intense heat around the building, but Curly had magic items to protect against that. There was also constant noise from pounding of hammers on anvils. Curly approached a dwarf that was standing just outside the building, drinking from a flask.

"Excuse me, sir"

"Puhee~, what is it?"

The dwarf reeked of alcohol.

"Uh, I was wondering if this building is one of the forges of this city. I heard that dwarven metalwork is usually of excellent quality and I wanted to see if there were any products for sale here."

"Indeed, this is one of the forges in the city. In fact, this is the Forgemaster's workshop itself. They make the best products in the city here. However, we don't sell any of the products we make here. You need to go to the market if you want to buy them. Also, we don't allow visitors in here. Some of the work and techniques used here are secret, so we don't like prying eyes."

"I see, that is unfortunate. I was hoping to observe the famous dwarven artisans at work. I guess it can't be helped. In that case, could you show me where I can purchase some of the items made here?"

"Well, if you want to see some of our work, you should go to the market section of Feoh Ger. It's about six blocks that way. I'd show you myself, but while I'm on break now, I need to get back to work in a few minutes, so I can't show you personally."

"Thank you sir."

With that, Curly started walking in the direction the dwarf pointed. He didn't plan on buying anything right now, but wanted to look at the items first. As he left the area, he wondered if it was true that all dwarves liked alcohol that much.

XXX

"Fools, all of them! Abandoning or techniques is utterly foolish!"

"mMm"

"Of course the technology will become outdated if no one develops it! All we need to do is invest a little effort!"

"I see"

Moe had been listening to Gondo rant for the last 30 minutes. Apparently he was very passionate about runes. According to him, the art of runecraft was slowly dying out. With the introduction of magic weapons and enchantments, the dwarves considered runecraft outdated. Gondo had apparently been trying to modernize runecraft, but he hadn't made any significant progress so far.

"How can they just let a piece of our legacy die out like that? Do they have no pride?"

"Well, you need to see this from other points of view as well. Perhaps in their mind, runecraft is no longer necessary. Isn't that why you're trying to improve it?"

Gondo looked slightly dejected at this.

"Well, this has been an interesting conversation. By the way, since you said you are a runesmith, would you happen to have an example of your work? I'm curious to see what it's like."

Gondo produced a sword from his bag and handed it to Moe. There was a runic character on its body.

"This is Cuern, a lesser rune which means 'sharpness'. When properly engraved, it creates a magic sword that has increased sharpness. There are many runes that one can engrave, but this sword just has this one on it"

"I see, this is quite impressive"

"Not at all, even an apprentice runesmith can do better than this."

"Still, I find it interesting. Would you be willing to let me purchase this sword? I will pay an appropriate price."

Gondo smiled bitterly before responding.

"Well, it's not that impressive, so I can sell it to you for cheap. How about five gold?"

"Deal"

Gondo was slightly surprised. He had expected Moe to try to haggle down the price. While five gold was a reasonable price for the sword, it was still a little on the high side.

"Well, now that that's settled, why don't I treat you to a drink?"

"Eh?"

Gondo looked around. Without him realizing it, they had ended up back at the White Beer Pavilion.

"Consider it thanks for telling me your story. Besides, it's better to drink with friends than alone, right? I'll treat you to anything under two silver."

Smiling, Gondo accepted Moe's offer. It had been a long time since he went out for beer.

As they drank their beer, Moe thought about what he would do next. He planned to have Merlin take the item he had obtained back to Silver Castle and then he would continue his exploration of the city.


	23. Chapter 23

**A/N**

 **I've been feeling lazy lately. I don't make any promises on how frequent I update.**

XXX

Serenity watched the man leave the room. He had arrived earlier in the morning and requested an audience with the master of the castle. Upon meeting with him, the man introduced himself as Fredrick Dale Banshon and claimed he was an emissary from the Slaine Theocracy. Serenity had expected them to try to contact Royal Order eventually, but not this soon. Instead of requesting a diplomatic party like the Empire did, Fredrick claimed that he was here to negotiate peace between the Theocracy and Royal Order himself. After about 20 minutes of discussion, they came to an agreement. The Theocracy and Royal Order would enter a non-aggression pact and open trade relations, but they did not make any other promises. There was no mutual recognition of borders or agreements not to move forces threateningly. Additionally, Serenity learned that the ideologies of the Theocracy and Royal Order conflicted. While Royal Order was welcoming of all races, the Theocracy believed in human supremacy and that other races should be exterminated. While this may become a problem in the future, right now it was not a cause for concern. Serenity had offered to shelter Fredrick and his group for the night, but they insisted on leaving immediately after the negotiation.

Serenity had several other things to do today. Apparently, a group of people claiming to be acquaintances with Larry had arrived. Upon meeting with her, they were disappointed to hear that Larry was away on a mission. Merlin had confirmed their story when he visited, so Serenity decided to let them stay in the newly built houses temporarily free of charge. At the moment, there were plenty of empty houses, even with the new arrivals from the Kingdom. Serenity learned that the girl that arrived with her family wished to stay in Silver Town and was looking for a job. While Serenity could have had her work as a golem supervisor like the others, she felt that that would be a waste of the girl's talent.

Deciding to think about it later, Serenity picked up the weapon in front of her. Merlin had brought it back with him when he teleported back to give his report. While it was unusual, it didn't seem to be very powerful and she didn't know what it could be used for. Right before she put it aside, inspiration stuck. Serenity placed the sword in front of her and cast her spell.

XXX

Merlin sat in the waiting room as he awaited the summons from the Dwarven Council. It was somewhat small for him, but it would be considered large for dwarves. Once again, Merlin was to meet with the council alone. He had his staff stored in a magic backpack just like when he met with the Emperor.

While he waited, he thought back to the events of the prior day. Apparently, while Sachiko was out on her walk, she healed many sick dwarves. However, after healing one particular individual, she found herself surrounded by a crowd claiming that she had done a miracle. Apparently, the dwarf she healed was suffering from a disease called WhiteSnow Sickness. WhiteSnow Sickness was a disease that plagued miners and was greatly feared in this city. Many dwarves surrounded Sachiko and begged her to heal their loved ones. Sachiko agreed to do so in the interests of building a friendly relationship, but there were many suffering from this disease. Sachiko healed those she could, but eventually she needed to rest. From what Merlin knew, Sachiko had gone to heal more people while he met with the Council.

A few minutes later, a dwarf arrived to lead him to the Council Chambers. He entered a meeting room with eight dwarves present.

To Merlin, the dwarves in this Kingdom all looked the same. He could only tell the apart by their clothes.

After a few moments of silence, Merlin spoke.

"Greetings, I am the emissary for Royal Order, the magic caster Merlin."

"Welcome, emissary of Royal Order, please take a seat."

With that, Merlin took a seat before the council. Once he was seated, they began introducing themselves. It was quite confusing, having to remember eight names and titles, but Merlin at least tried to remember their names.

"Now then, with introductions out of the way, may we ask the reason for your visit?"

"Before that, I was under the impression that the Dwarven Kingdom was ruled by a king. Is this correct?"

"Ah, no our last king left a long time ago. Right now, the country is ruled by this regent council."

"Are there any councilors that are absent today?"

"No, everyone is here, fortunately, we had a meeting scheduled today that just finished, so we decided to hear you out now."

Merlin smiled, that was fortunate.

"Is that so, anyway, I am here to establish diplomatic relations with the Dwarven Kingdom. Royal Order wishes to establish our borders, agree to a non-aggression pact, and negotiate a trade treaty."

"Well, I don't see a problem with that. From what I understand, Royal Order is not in the Azellisa Mountain Range. We shouldn't have any border disputes. We also have no desire to attack a country so far away. As for the trade treaty, what say you, merchant guildmaster?"

"Well, there shouldn't be any problem establishing a trade treaty. However, the steep and dangerous mountain paths pose a barrier to trade. Even though we have a trade agreement with the Empire, in practice, there is barely any trade between our nations."

"I see, and what if Royal Order was able to organize our own caravans?"

The merchant guildmaster stared at Merlin for a moment before replying.

"While that would be helpful, you will probably run into the same problems we have. As much as we'd like to increase trade, it is proving difficult. We are researching several solutions to this problem, but it may take years to produce results."

"I believe Royal Order can safely facilitate trade between our nations. We have many powerful golems that can escort the caravans through the dangerous areas."

The dwarves looked surprised at this information.

"Golems? Aren't they expensive?"

"Indeed, we would've liked to use golems in many areas, but they are too expensive to make."

"Well, Royal Order has a method that allows us to create golems easily. It poses no problem to us. In addition, with your permission, we would like to experiment with using some of our golems as miners. Will that be possible?"

The dwarves in the room were shocked. They had been searching for a way to improve the efficiency of the mines for a long time and now one had fallen into their laps.

"Of course, the golems will not be free. Once the concept is proven, we will rent the Dwarven Kingdom golems at a reasonable price. The exact price will have to be set during negoitations, but it should end up benefiting all of us. Also, Royal Order wishes to buy a large quantity of metals. By using golems as laborers, you should be able to mine more to keep up with the demand."

Serenity had originally sent Merlin and his group here to secure a supply of metal to create golems with. While she would be satisfied with iron, if possible Merlin was to obtain higher quality metals.

"I see, you wish to lower the price by increasing supply."

"That too, but we are mainly interested in generating enough money to obtain a steady supply of metal. By the way, what are the highest quality metals that you mine here?"

"Well, most of what we find is just iron, but there are mithril, orichalcum, and adamantium veins in these mountains. Of course, rarer metals cost more."

"That is understandable; anyway, Royal Order is interested in purchasing all types of metal from the Dwarven Kingdom. For now, we will only purchase the cheap iron, but if our experiment is successful, we will start purchasing other types of metal from you. While we're on the topic of trade, is there anything that you are looking to purchase for your nation? Royal Order currently has many types of food that we grow on our lands and we produce several consumable items such as potions. Would you be interested in them?"

"Yes, our staple foods are mushrooms and meat. We do have a few farms at the bottom of the mountain that produce vegetables, but they are few in number and quite poor in quality. We would like to buy fresh food if you can transport it here. Would you also happen to have any alcoholic spirits available?"

"Well, we don't specialize in producing alcohol, but we do make some wine. We can also purchase goods from other nations if you request it."

At that, the Dwarves' eyes lit up.

"Well then, I suppose that just about covers everything I have to discuss. Before I leave for today, I would like to ask if there are any other intelligent creatures in this mountain range."

"No, we're the only civilized ones here. The Quagoa are the only other group here and they're savages."

"Quagoa? I'm sorry, but I've never heard of them."

"They're underground dwellers like us. We have a bad relationship with them and frequently fight"

"Huh, maybe I should meet with them as well."

"Don't bother, they are completely unreasonable. They even occupied our former capital of Feoh Berkanan and forced us to abandon Feoh Raido. Nothing good will come of them"

"Even so, I wish to at least try. Who knows, perhaps I can negotiate a peace between you two. You might even get your former capital back."

The dwarves all stared at Merlin.

"That won't happen. As long as they compete against us, they will be our enemies. Also, it seems that a group of frost dragons has taken up nest in the capital."

"Dragons you say? Well, I'd like to meet them as well."

The dwarves were shocked speechless at this declaration. Eventually, they recovered and tried to persuade Merlin to change his mind.

"You'll be killed if you go. Don't you have to report back to your country as well?"

"I can send them a message. It will be fine. Would you mind telling me what you know about these Quagoa and the Frost Dragons?"

The dwarves looked at each other with a look of disbelief on their faces. After a few tense moments, one of them spoke.

"Very well, if you won't change your mind, then we won't stop you."

With that, the council told Merlin what they knew about the Dragons and the Quagoa.


	24. Chapter 24

**A/N**

 **As I mentioned earlier, I'm feeling lazy. Expect updates to be more infrequent and erratic.**

XXX

Three iron golems faced off in a makeshift arena. It was a handicap 2 on 1 match. One had a red necklace around it while the other two had green necklaces. These necklaces did not have any special properties; their only purpose was to identify the golems. All of the iron golems were armed with identical swords and shields.

The two green iron golems charged the red iron golem and swung their swords. The red iron golem used its shield to block one of the swords but got hit with the other one. The sword dented the golem, but didn't destroy it. The red iron golem swung its sword and cut one of the attacking green golems in two.

Just like that, the match became one on one.

The damaged red iron golem swung its sword at the remaining green golem, which blocked with its shield. The shield managed to absorb the blow, but it was cut in two. The green golem swung its sword, but that was deflected by the red golem's shield. The red golem swung its sword again, cutting the last green golem in two, ending the match.

Serenity gave a command to the red golem to stand down and wait at the edge of the arena. The results were as she had hoped for. The red golem that won the battle had been created from the sword Merlin had brought back from the Dwarven Kingdom, while the green golems had been made from a piece of iron from this world and an weak enchanted sword from the treasury.

When Serenity created golems using a medium, the resulting golem's quality depended on the quality of the medium used to summon it. However, only the material quality mattered; any magical enchantments on the material had no effect and were removed during the creation of the golem.

However, it seemed that runes were different.

When Serenity created a golem from the runic sword, the resulting golem retained the effect of the rune. As the rune originally enhanced the sword's sharpness, it seemed that the resulting golem gained an ability to enhance the sharpness of anything it wielded. The golem could seemingly bestow its enchantment to anything it wielded that wasn't already enchanted. Serenity had done several experiments to test this. Currently, the golem was wielding a non-magical sword forged from the metals of this world, but when it wielded an enchanted sword, there was no additional effect. Nevertheless, this discovery was quite impressive.

Forging good relations with the Dwarven Kingdom was now more important. Serenity activated her message ring and contacted Merlin to inform him of this new discovery.

XXX

Merlin walked through Feoh Ger on his way to the underground entrance to the city. He had just had another meeting with the regent council. There, Merlin had expressed Royal Order's desire to purchase runic items. While this slightly confused the council, they agreed to export runic items and even accepted Merlin's offer to let some dwarves move to Silver Town if they wanted to. The council informed Merlin that they would send a dwarf to guide him to the former capital of Feoh Berkanan. The dwarf would accompany them up to the second trial, the area of flowing lava. While Merlin wanted the guide to accompany him all the way to the capital, he couldn't ask the dwarves to do so. After all, he was the one who had insisted on this journey and the dwarves would consider it dangerous.

Merlin met with his group before the city's main gate. The commander-in-chief from the regent council, who was stationed there, saw them off. The group passed through the gently sloping tunnel and arrived at a fortress. The guide had a short conversation with the troops in the fortress, and they were allowed to pass on the suspension bridge that ran across the Great Rift. After a seemingly long walk, seemingly because they had to travel slowly underground, they arrived at the land of molten magma. At this point, their dwarf guide bid them farewell and returned to Feoh Ger.

After observing the area for a minute, his vision clear thanks to a magic item, Merlin cast a [Mass Fly] spell and the group flew over the lava, protected by items that granted fire resistance. The group continued to walk for a long time before reaching the Maze of Death, a labyrinth of a long, twisting and branching series of caves. This obstacle took much longer to overcome than any of the previous two obstacles. While Merlin's party had protection against the poisonous, volcanic gases, they still had to blindly search for a correct passage. No one in the party had the [Bless of Titania] spell, so it took them a while to find an exit.

After over an hour spent in the Maze of Death, Merlin's party was glad to see a clear path ahead. The group headed toward the former Dwarven Capital of Feoh Berkanan, prepared to meet with the Quagoa.

XXX

Tension filled the air around the Quagoa forces. Their commander, Jiro, looked forward with worry. A few minutes ago, several scouts had returned with reports of a group of five humanoids approaching the city. They didn't appear to be dwarves, but some other race.

This was very unusual. As far as he knew, the only intelligent species in the Azellisa Mountina Range were the dwarves and Quagoa. Soon, they would exterminate the dwarves and claim the mountain for themselves. Jiro did not know of any other groups that were in the mountains, but if they made it through the Maze of Death, they should be quite formidable. Even though Jiro was a rare blue Quagoa, he didn't want to risk fighting an unknown enemy.

After a few minutes, Jiro was surprised to see the five figures that emerged from around a corner. They appeared to be human. Jiro had never seen a human before, but he had heard what they looked like. Jiro knew that the dwarves occasionally traded with humans, but as far as he knew, they never ventured this far underground. Deciding to try to learn more about the situation, he called out to the humans.

"Halt, who goes there?"

"Greetings, we are emissaries from Royal Order. We request an audience with your leader."

Jiro was surprised by this response. He hadn't expected them to say anything. In addition, it seemed like these humans could see in the dark tunnel. They didn't stumble around in the dark and had stopped a respectable distance away from the squad of Quagoa. Jiro had never heard of an organization called 'Royal Order' before, so he needed to gather more information.

"Why do you want to speak with the Clan Lord?"

"We wish to establish diplomatic relations with the Quagoa. Royal Order wishes to establish friendly relations with all nearby countries. As of now, we have a tentative treaty with the Dwarven Kingdom, but no treaty with the Quagoa."

"What! Are you allies of the dwarves?"

All of the Quagoa in the area tensed up, but slightly relaxed upon hearing Merlin's response.

"No, we are not allies, more like trading partners. While we have a non-aggression pact, we are not obligated to fight for them."

"I see, so you wish to trade with us too?"

"Perhaps later. I do not know what you have to offer in trade yet, so it is not a pressing priority. Right now, we simply wish for a non-aggression pact. Also, if you are interested, we are willing to help broker a peace with the dwarves."

Hearing this, several Quagoa snorted. As long as both races lived, the Quagoa would have no peace with the dwarves.

"The only peace we are interested in is the dwarves submitting to our rule and living under us as slaves."

"Well, I doubt they would accept that, but the offer to mediate between your groups remains. However, that is a topic for another time. Right now we are here to meet with your leader."

"Very well, I will take you to see him"

With that, Jiro led Merlin and his group into the city of Feoh Berkanan.

XXX

Pe Riyuro sat on his cushion and observed the man before him. It was unusual for any intelligent creature other than a Quagoa to enter this room. When he first heard that there were human envoys that wished to meet with him, he didn't believe it. Yet, it seemed to be true.

Riyuro slowly moved his hand, reaching into a cage beside him and grabbing a squeaking lizard. He briefly considered offering one to this envoy, but decided against it. He did not know if humans enjoyed the food of Quagoa. Riyuro ate the lizard in three bites and then addressed the man before him.

"You may speak, human."

Merlin stared at the Quagoa before him for a moment. He appeared to be lazy and weak, but Merlin knew that he could only appear that way because he was confident in his strength.

At the moment, Merlin was the only one from Royal Order in the room. The other four were waiting outside while he spoke. Merlin also kept his staff in his magical backpack. He didn't want to appear threatening, but he knew if necessary, he could fight his way out of this city.

"Greetings, lord of the Quagoa Clans. I am Merlin, a messenger from Royal Order. Our country wishes to establish a treaty of non-aggression with your people."

"Hmph, what benefit does this treaty bring me?"

"It will simply allow you to avoid conflicts with us. Also, it gives you the opportunity to build a relationship with us."

"That doesn't seem worthwhile."

"Well, we already have a treaty with the dwarves. If they are attacked by the Quagoa and request our aid, we may agree to help them if we do not have a treaty with you as well."

"Are you threatening me?"

"Not at all, I'm just stating what might happen in the future. What you do about it is up to you."

Pe Riyuro sat silently considering his options. While he wasn't interested in dealing with the man before him, he didn't want the dwarves to gain an ally. Before he could come to a decision, Merlin spoke again.

"We wish to establish peace agreements with all intelligent groups on this mountain range. While it is unlikely we will come into conflict, we do not wish to expend resources and energy on a pointless battle."

"Oh, do you intend to negotiate with the Frost Dragons and Frost Giants as well?"

"Frost Giants? I was not aware that there were Frost Giants on this mountain range. Perhaps I should meet them as well."

"Well, they do live far away from here."

"Ah, then perhaps I shall meet them another time. Anyway, to answer your earlier question, yes I intend to meet with the Frost Dragons. I believe that one of them has its residence in this city, is that correct?"

"Indeed, the dragons have their nest in the city's Merchant's Guild building."

"Well then, that will save me a journey."

"Hmph, so you wish to meet with the White Dragon Lord then? Well, I won't stop you. You might as well go now, as I require time to consider your offer."

Pe Riyuro said this knowing that Olasird'arc=Haylilyal, the White Dragon Lord, would likely kill the man before him. The dragons always demanded tribute from those who visited them; any who did not offer tribute were slain.

"Very well, I shall meet with this Dragon Lord while you consider my offer. Might I request a guide to this Merchant's Guild building?"

Pe Riyuro agreed to Merlin's request and ordered one of his subordinates to show him the way. Naturally, the Quagoa would not actually enter the building itself.

Merlin and his group followed their guide to the large building and prepared for their first encounter with a dragon in this world.

XXX

 **I know that runes and golems might not work that way in canon, but hey, it hasn't been explored yet and it's my fanfic, so I can make stuff up.**


	25. Chapter 25

Hekkeran Termite looked over the vast plain and sighed. Dozens of stone golems were working as laborers, plowing and seeding the fields. Normally, it would be pointless to plant this late in the year, but the mistress of Silver Castle, Serenity, had told him that there was a dryad with druid powers at Silver Castle. This dryad was supposedly so powerful it had the ability to control the weather itself, so they could grow crops even in winter.

"Hey, stop posing there and get back to work"

A voice called out from behind Hekkeran. He turned around and saw his old friend.

"Good morning to you too, Rob."

A man wearing full body armor with a surcoat embroidered with a symbol of a crest approached Hekkeran on horseback. He was carrying a Morningstar by his waist and wearing a necklace bearing the same crest that was on his surcoat. He appeared to be around age 30.

"We can't be slacking off on our jobs now. Put some passion into your work"

"But no one ever attacks here. From what I've heard, there hasn't been a bandit attack or a wild animal sighting in over two weeks."

"That doesn't mean you can just take it easy."

"Get off my back you work maniac."

"Then start working, slacker."

With that, both Hekkeran Termite and Roberdyck Goltron shared a hearty laugh.

"Still, I can't believe our luck, getting an easy job like this."

"Mm, we also get to keep the old team together."

The members of 'Foresight' had decided to accompany Arche Eeb Rile Furt to Silver Castle in order to experience one last mission together. Since their arcane magic caster was leaving the team, they had no choice but to disband unless they found a replacement. However, a new opportunity presented itself.

After arriving at Silver Castle, Serenity offered to hire them to work in Silver Town. Once she heard about their previous occupation, she suggested they become guard captains and protect the town. After a short negotiation, the members of 'Foresight' agreed to work for one month as a trial period.

The new guard captains were given command of several iron golems and told to patrol Royal Order's territory to defend against bandits and wild animals. Serenity told them to leave the fighting to the golems and if they encountered a powerful force and were outmatched, they should abandon the golems and retreat to the castle to inform her or her subordinates.

Hekkeran and his team each received a house in Silver Town and given free meals and other resources. While the pay for the job was very low, these benefits meant that they had virtually no expenses and could save everything they earned.

"Well, we may not be together for much longer, have you heard about the others?"

"Yeah, still, we can keep in touch."

From what Hekkeran had heard, he was the only member of 'Foresight' that intended to stay a guard captain. Roberdyck wanted to become a farmer while healing people without the regulations of the temples, Arche was talking with Serenity about becoming a magic teacher, and Imina expressed a desire to go traveling.

"Well, change will always come, no matter how much we wish things to stay the same. All we can do is adapt to it."

"Yeah, anyway, it seems things will work out this time."

"True"

With that, Hekkeran and Roberdyck continued on their patrol.

XXX

Olasird'arc=Haylilyal, the White Dragon Lord, relaxed, coiled around his throne. Besides him, only his three concubines were in the room.

Suddenly, he picked up a new scent. Dragons had a keen nose for treasure. They could roughly sniff out the value of any item, no matter how valuable. Right now, Olasird'arc could smell something extremely valuable heading toward him. He suddenly lifted his body, his eyes filled with anticipation.

After a few moments, five humans walked into the room. Olasird'arc was slightly surprised that humans would venture into his territory, but brushed that surprise aside and addressed them.

"Puny humans, you dare approach me so arrogantly? An inferior race should show respect to their betters."

At this declaration, the human in the middle spoke.

"Apologies, White Dragon Lord, we mean no disrespect. We are simply here to negotiate with you. I assume you are the one in charge here, correct?"

"Negotiate? Hmph, who do you think you are addressing? If you want me to forgive your foolishness, you must offer me proper tribute. Give me your raiment and equipment and I will spare your lives."

"Unfortunately, our gear is not ours to give. It belongs to Royal Order and we are only allowed to use it with the permission of our lords. Unless our masters command us to do so, we may not surrender it as long as we live."

"Your terms are acceptable."

With that declaration, Olasird'arc approached the humans and swiped his claws at them. Sachiko cast a spell in defense.

[Celestial Barrier]

Olasird'arc's claws hit a barrier and bounced off it. Surprised at this outcome, he tried again, only to meet the same result.

"White Dragon Lord, we did not come here to fight, but to talk. We do not wish to do battle, however if you insist on attacking us, we will retaliate."

"Hmph, such arrogance"

Olasird'arc brushed aside Merlin's declaration and swung his tail at the intruders. Larry blocked the tail with his spear. Olasird'arc was surprised at the strength of the human. Before he could do anything else, Merlin cast a spell.

[Blaze]

Olasird'arc suddenly felt heat on his chest. He stumbled back and two arrows pierced him where his arms connected to this body. Olasird'arc screamed in pain while his concubines watched in horror.

"Are you satisfied now, White Dragon Lord? We can end this battle now if you stand down."

Olasird'arc glared at the humans. They were much stronger than expected. However, even if they could hurt him, Olasird'arc could not stand down from this battle. His concubines were watching and his pride as a Dragon Lord refused to let others see any weakness from him.

"You fools! You dare challenge a Dragon Lord! Pay for your mistake with your lives."

With that declaration, Olasird'arc unleashed his mighty frost breath upon the humans.

[Shining Shield]

Sachiko created a barrier of light that blocked the dragon's breath. Merlin followed up with an attack.

[Phoenix Lance]

A bolt of fire shot forth from Merlin's finger and pierced Olasird'arc's head, killing him instantly. The other three dragons in the room, surprised at this outcome, trembled in fear.

"I apologize for having to do that. Sadly, he would not listen to me. Now then, who is the second in command here? I would like to discuss a peace agreement with them."

The three dragons looked at each other confused.

"Ah, is there no second in command here? In that case, any of you will do. I simply want an agreement not to fight."

One of the dragons, Munuinia=Ilyslym, spoke up.

"You are not here to fight us?"

"Correct, I am just here to seek peace with those that live on this mountain"

"Very well, we will not attack you so long as you leave us alone."

Munuinia knew that she could not defeat these humans, who killed Olasird'arc, but she didn't want to leave her nest. She decided to try to bluff in order to keep her home.

"That is acceptable. I just wish that this fellow was as reasonable as you. Speaking of this dragon, do you mind if I take the corpse? I believe we could use it."

"I don't mind"

Merlin cast message to contact Serenity before teleporting away with the dragon's corpse. After a minute, he reappeared in the room.

"Well then, that settles things. By the way, that is an impressive pile of treasure there. Is it true that dragons covet such treasures?"

"Indeed, all dragons desire such wealth. That horde belonged to Olasird'arc. However, since he has been defeated, you may take it if you wish."

Merlin did not expect this. He was just here to negotiate peace, not obtain treasure. However, he would not complain about an unexpected windfall. Munuinia, on the other hand, did not wish to push her luck and was simply satisfied with not having to search for a new home.

"Well, I suppose that since this treasure no longer has an owner, there is nothing wrong with me taking it. However, you said that dragons desire wealth. In that case, would you like part of this treasure as a gesture of goodwill?"

Munuinia was stunned at this offer. She had expected the human to plunder the entire hoard. However, she quickly recovered her wits and responded.

"I thank you for your generous offer. As it would be rude to refuse you, I will accept whatever you decide to give me."

With that, Merlin contacted Serenity again before teleporting away with most of the hoard. He took about three quarters of it and left the remainder for the dragons.

After returning, Merlin bid the dragons farewell and left the room with his companions. After a few minutes of silence, one of the dragons spoke.

"What the hell just happened?"


	26. Chapter 26

**A/N**

 **Well, its been a while. So, yeah, life happened, the holiday season was busy, and I procrastinated.**

XXX

Marquis Elias Brandt Dale Raeven flopped down on his chair in his magic-proofed study. As the stress and anger from the recent court session built in his chest, his breathing started to grow rougher. After a few moments, he shouted in rage.

"Those bloody, bloody, bloody idiots!"

With that, Marquis Raeven went on his usual tirade against the fools in the court that called themselves nobles.

Marquis Raeven knew that right now, the Kingdom was in great peril. The constant provocations from the Empire were causing problems such as food shortages, which in turn created further problems. The Empire's invasions were always during fall, taking away labor from villages when it was needed most. If things continued, the Kingdom would collapse.

To complicate matters, the nobles of the Kingdom were in a power struggle, trying to put their favored candidate on the throne. It had gotten so bad that one of the great nobles, Marquis Volumlash, had betrayed the kingdom, selling information to the Empire.

Currently, all of the people in the Kingdom that thought of the future and what was important for the country were under Marquis Raeven's wing. They had no ability to influence the other nobles.

Marquis Raeven had to act fast or the Kingdom was doomed. He needed something that could drastically change the status quo in favor of the Kingdom. He had hoped that Royal Order would serve this purpose. If Marquis Raeven could convince them to join the Kingdom or ally with them, it would greatly improve the Kingdom's position and stabilize the country. However, it looked like they wanted to stay neutral. Royal Order had recently informed Marquis Raeven and the other officials of the Kingdom of their non-agression treaty with the Empire. This clearly meant they did not want to get involved in the conflict between the countries.

"Well, at least we can trade with them."

Royal Order had a trade treaty with both the Kingdom and the Empire. However, since the Kingdom surrounded their borders, the Kingdom would benefit from the most trade with them. The only trade the Empire would have would be the caravans organized by Royal Order, which would provide far less trade to them. Royal Order also offered to sell the Kingdom food at a low price, which would alleviate the food shortages. However, the Kingdom would eventually run out of currency to pay for this support if they relied on it for too long. Marquis Raeven would need to think of a solution to this problem eventually. He also had to figure out what to do about the issue caused by the idiot noble, Gillian.

Suddenly, there was a knocking at the door.

"Oh, that's not good. I can't show a face like this."

Marquis Raeven lightly smacked his face and tidied up his hair before going to greet his family.

XXX

Pe Riyuro was surprised to see the emissary return to his throne room. He had expected that the dragon lord would kill him. Perhaps he decided not to confront the dragon.

Suddenly, a Quagoa rushed into the room, approached Riyuro, and whispered into his ear.

"What!"

The Quagoa repeated what it had told Riyuro. Despite hearing it twice, Riyuro had trouble believing it. Apparently, the Quagoa had entered the dragon's lair after hearing loud noises and overheard the conversation between Merlin and Munuinia.

Riyuro was shocked that the White Dragon Lord had been slain.

"Excuse me, lord of the Quagoa Clans, is there something wrong?"

"Hiii"

Surprised at being addressed suddenly, Riyuro let out an involuntary squeal. However, he quickly recovered and addressed Merlin.

"Yes, do you have something to say?"

"My group wishes to return to the Dwarven city. I would like to know how long you anticipate it will take you to reach a decision on our proposal. I will return at a designated time to hear your decision."

"That, that will not be necessary. I will accept your proposal for peace between our people."

"Ah, that is excellent news. I hope this is the start of a good relationship."

Pe Riyuro did not intend to antagonize a being capable of slaying a dragon. He would do whatever it took to ensure that they did not come into conflict.

"Yes, we look forward to existing peacefully with you."

"Very well then. By the way, have you given any consideration to our proposal to mediate peace between your people and the dwarves?"

"Hah?"

Riyuro was not expecting Merlin to bring up this topic. The dwarves and Quagoa were mortal enemies. He did not think there would ever be peace between them.

"Naturally, I don't expect an agreement immediately. There are many issues to discuss and it will take a while. However, I believe it will be possible if both parties are willing to try it. Of course, if one or both sides are unreasonable, there will be no agreement."

"Will you insist that we negotiate with the dwarves?"

"Certainly not, I was just offering my services. I cannot force a peace between your people, you must do it yourselves."

"Is that so? Well, I shall consider it later. For now, unless the dwarves are willing to negotiate, we will fight them with all of our might."

Riyuro was secretly thankful that Merlin did not insist on a negotiation with the dwarves. He hated them with a passion.

"I will talk with them, but I promise nothing. No one can be certain what the future holds."

With that, Merlin left the room.

XXX

After reuniting with his party, Merlin left Feoh Berkanan and teleported back to Feoh Ger. Everyone was glad that they did not have to go through the Maze of Death again.

Upon arriving at Feoh Ger, Merlin arranged another meeting with the Regent Council. This time, only five of the eight members were there to meet him. The Forgemaster, Cabinet Secretary, and Brewmaster were not present.

Merlin told them of the events that happened at Feoh Berkanan, but the council didn't believe him. As this was not a pressing issue, Merlin did not try to convince them. He relayed the Quagoa clan lord's willingness to negotiate, but the dwarves rejected it, claiming that it was likely a trap. Once again, as peace between the dwarves and Quagoa was not an important goal for him, he was willing to let it slide.

After over an hour of negotiation with the present members of the regent council, they reached an agreement on the issues that were brought up. Royal Order would provide several stone and iron golems to test in the mines. If the dwarves deemed the golems useful, the Dwarven Kingdom would rent them from Royal Order to increase production in their mines. The exact rent payment was not set yet, but it would be a fixed amount based on the number of golems instead of a percentage of what the golems mined. Royal Order would also arrange a regular trade caravan between Silver Town and Feoh Ger. With this caravan, the Dwarven kingdom could be economically connected to the human nations and Silver Town would become a trade hub. Merlin also accepted the dwarves request to purchase alcoholic beverages from various places sell it to the Dwarven Kingdom. For some reason, this point seemed very important to them.

Regarding the runic equipment, Merlin offered to purchase them at somewhat high prices. This would allow the runesmiths to develop their craft and hopefully produce higher quality items later. The regent council agreed to let the runesmiths know that Royal Order wished to recruit them to move to Silver Town to practice and develop their craft. Merlin even offered a guaranteed stipend, free housing, complimentary meals, and other support. When the Master of Caves and Mines asked why he was going to such lengths for runesmiths, Merlin simply stated that Royal Order had found a use for runic equipment that enchanted equipment could not fill. The Master of Caves and Mines asked for more information, but Merlin refused, stating that it was a state secret. Although they were a little suspicious, the dwarves accepted this explanation.

With these issues settled, the meeting was adjourned. Merlin and the other representatives of Royal Order decided to stay in Feoh Ger while the council made the announcement to the runesmiths.

XXX

Three days passed without incident. During that time, Sachiko healed many dwarves with WhiteSnow Sickness, likely all the dwarves that that were afflicted with it in Feoh Ger. Before leaving, Curly brought the others to the market to purchase a few samples of the dwarves craftsmanship before getting ready to depart.

Twelve dwarven runesmiths had volunteered to go to Silver Town. They had agreed to take a risk in a new town in the hopes of a better life. For now, those with families would leave them behind, but if they prospered, their families would join them in Silver Town.

The dwarves had packed for a long journey, but Merlin informed them that he planned to teleport them to Silver Town. Just like all of the other people in this world, the dwarves were surprised that Merlin could teleport long distances. After calming the dwarves down, Merlin teleported everyone directly to the grounds of Silver Castle, along with all of the materials and items he had obtained during his visit to Feoh Ger.

Upon arriving, Merlin arranged a meeting between Serenity and the dwarves' leader. Although the dwarves chose him as the leader, it was only because he was the oldest and most experienced dwarf there. Serenity and the dwarf leader discussed what they would need to do their work. The dwarves would be given several houses to live in, although they would need to be furnished, and provided with meals and supplies. Royal Order would have to build a forge for the dwarves and provide raw materials for them to work with. The materials would have to be obtained from trade with the Dwarven Kingdom.

After sending the dwarves to their new lodgings, Merlin gave his report to Serenity. He learned that the treasure he had sent back was being stored in a new storehouse and the dragon corpse was still being processed. Once Merlin finished his report, Serenity let him do as he pleased and turned to the new issues.

Serenity would use stone and iron golems to construct the forge the dwarves had requested. She planned to have the dwarves oversee the construction so they could build it as they wished. Royal Order would have to purchase the raw materials for the dwarves to use from the Dwarven Kingdom. Thanks to the treasure Merlin had obtained, they had a substantial stock of items from this world to trade with, but eventually they would need to increase their exports.

For the near future, Serenity intended to have the Dwarves produce runic equipment that she would turn into golems. In the negotiation with the dwarf leader, Serenity had agreed to let them sell their items to the general public provided they gave Royal Order the first option to buy them. Serenity also agreed to let them pursue side businesses as long as they supplied enough runic equipment to Royal Order. Eventually, Serenity hoped that they would produce stronger runic equipment that should be able to make correspondingly stronger golems.

Merlin would teleport a dozen stone golems and six iron golems to Feoh Ger for the agreed upon test. If it was successful, Serenity would have any additional golems march to Feoh Ger as she predicted the dwarves would want many of them. Regardless of whether or not the dwarves wanted to rent the golems. Serenity intended to establish a regular trade caravan between Silver Town and Feoh Ger. Although the first few trips would not be very profitable, as they learned what items they should transport the caravan would become more lucrative.

Serenity would make new golems from the runic equipment that Merlin had brought back from Feoh Ger. These runic golems would act as an elite defense force for now, protecting Royal Order's territory from intruders. Merlin had obtained fourteen pieces of runic equipment, which would be enough until the dwarves created new equipment.

In addition to all of these tasks, the dragon corpse Merlin had obtained still needed to be processed. As it was uncertain if they would be able to obtain another one, the workers of Royal Order had to make sure they didn't waste any part of it. The skin, blood and bones would be harvested and stored, the meat preserved, and the other parts of the body used for various purposes.

There was much work to do, so after Merlin's group had two days of rest, Serenity would need their help.

XXX

Early the next morning, Larry went to visit Arche before her patrol. They had breakfast at the head chef's new restaurant. As the shop required more space, the restaurant was forced to relocate to a newly constructed building. While it wasn't as nice as the old place, it had much more room. The restaurant now employed many more people and was constantly open, although the head chef or sous chef still only came around at certain times. These times were always busier as their food was more popular.

Larry learned more about Arche's situation and why she made the decision to come to Silver Town. He was impressed at her teammate's selflessness in joining her. Larry also approved of the idea for her to become a magic teacher. Eventually, Arche had to go on her patrol and left after thanking Larry again.

With nothing left to do, Larry decided to explore Silver Town. It had really grown since he last saw it. There were now over 500 permanent or semi-permanent residents and around 60 visitors every day. The shop now stocked various types of equipment, potions, and food. Silver Town had truly become a trading town.

Larry passed by a group of four silver ranked adventurers. They looked like they were headed to the shop.

Interestingly enough, although there was no need for adventurers here, many adventurers came to visit. They were here to restock on several items and prepare for quests in nearby areas. Additionally, they liked to eat at the restaurant here.

Larry continued on his walk for several more minutes. He only stopped once to observe what looked like a group of traders entering Silver Town. As he started to get bored, Larry turned around and walked back toward Silver Castle. If he wasn't going to do anything here, he might as well help Serenity with something. He had heard that there were many tasks to be done, so she should have something for him to do.

XXX

Several days passed by without incident. Much work was completed during this time. The dragon corpse was fully processed, several buildings including the forge was completed, and the store was restocked with many types of goods. Lizzie's new potions were selling exceptionally well. Their first caravan to the Empire had departed early in the morning and one to the Dwarven Kingdom was scheduled to leave two days from now.

Although much had been accomplished, even more remained to be done. Serenity wished to start on several new products. As the town grew, new problems arose. These problems would negatively affect everyone here if not dealt with.

With more people in a concentrated area, sanitation became a growing issue. To handle this, Serenity ordered an aqueduct built to supply the town with fresh water. This would allow them to obtain fresh water, construct a sewer system and irrigate crops. Serenity was able to easily get permission from the Kingdom to build the aqueduct on their land and secure enough raw materials for the project, but she had to promise they would build an aqueduct for E-Rantel and E-Pespel as well.

The next problem was crime. While most of the people who came to Silver Town were honest people who were looking for a better lot in life or traders looking to do business, there were a few that turned to dishonest means to make a living. At the moment, Royal Order would simply exile these people from their territory, but that would no longer be a viable option as the town grew.

Serenity had plans to build a jail and organize a police force from the residents of Silver Town, but there was something else that needed to be done first. At the moment, there were no laws in Silver Town. People just lived under the protection of Royal Order and followed Serenity's decrees. For a fully functioning town, they needed a recorded set of laws to promote stability.

Serenity already drafted a set of laws that she would announce in a few days, but the issue was making new laws. Serenity knew that she would need advice and that she was not all-knowing. After some consideration, Serenity decided to form an advisory council from the residents of Silver Town. This advisory council would solicit recommendations from the general population and propose new laws to Serenity. Naturally, Serenity would have the final say on whether or not to enact a law, but this way the residents would have some input.

The final major issue that Serenity predicted was a lack of land space. Currently, this wasn't a pressing issue, but if Silver Town kept growing, then it would need more space. Serenity would have to eventually negotiate with the Kingdom to buy more land from them. Perhaps she could acquire enough land to share a border with the Empire, which would make trading with them easier.

While these problems were being dealt with, Serenity intended to send Merlin and his group on another mission. She decided to postpone meeting with the lizardmen by the nearby lake and send them to visit a nearby group of demihuman tribes.

The next morning, the five adventurers left on yet another mission.

XXX

 **Just to let you know, I'm finding it harder to write for some reason. I guess I finally hit writer's block. Therefore, don't expect the next chapter to come out anytime soon. Interestingly enough, I actually have a few chapters stored up, but I don't want to post them yet until I actually know how the next 'arc' will end.**


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